Man of Honor
by jenpall
Summary: Edward's a Navy SEAL and Bella has to deal with his career choice... AH/AU... canon pairings
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Twilight... but I love it so...

a/n: I originally intended this to be a one-shot, and was planning on submitting it for a contest, but I chickened out. Please let me know what you think...

* * *

"Oh, Bella, you look just like a princess…," my mom, Renee's voice trailed off as she choked back tears as she adjusted my veil.

I looked up into the mirror and saw myself. "Thanks, Mom," I whispered as Renee stepped away to dry her eyes. "I'm going to go find your father," she continued and then left the dressing room. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the mirror. I had to agree I did look pretty today dressed in my simple white wedding dress. I smiled slightly, thinking to myself, '_I do look like a princess today… Edward would love that…me calling myself a princess…'_ I snorted out loud at the thought.

"What's so funny, Bells?" my matron-of-honor and best friend, Alice chimed.

"Oh… you don't wanna know…" I looked at her and smiled slightly.

"Come on Bells, spill it," she urged.

"Mom told me that I looked like a princess," I paused taking a deep breath and then continued, knowing Alice would understand, "I couldn't help but laugh at that."

Alice's always animated face slowed into a thoughtful expression. "Bella, you _do_ look like a princess." Alice looked down at the floor and then back into my eyes. I could see the sympathy in her eyes when she said, "If he could be _it_ for you, he would be." She took another deep breath and then took my hands into her tiny ones, "Bella, I love you like you are my own sister and I am going to only say this to you once and then I will never say it again… you do not _have_ to do this… I know you say you love Jake, but I can see…."

Reflexively, I pulled my hands away from her and wrapped them around my waist. "Alice, just stop Edward's gone," I gasped trying to reign in the tears that threatened to roll down my cheeks. "Al, I always supported Edward's decision to join the Navy when he graduated from college. But, once he became a Navy SEAL I just couldn't handle it anymore." I took a deep breath and then continued, "I couldn't do it… I couldn't stay and watch him leave in the middle of the night with no warning and not have any idea when he was coming home, no… IF he was coming home." I had to make her understand, that as much as I loved Edward I couldn't be with him. I just couldn't. I took her by the shoulders and leaned my forehead down to hers and spoke quietly not able to hide the heart-break in my voice, "every time he left me it broke my heart and I just couldn't do it anymore. He made his choice and I have made mine… I am marrying Jake."

Alice wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me into a hug, "I know Bells, and I know it's hard. And this is what I will say to you and never say to you again… I have seen you with Edward and I have seen you with Jake and baby girl, you're settling."

I wanted to scream at her. How could she do this to me on my wedding day? Instead I squeezed her tighter. Alice loved me and she was my sister for lack of biology. I had known Alice for 20 years, since we were eight years old. We met in third grade and from that point on she and I had did everything together. All throughout school we had every class together. We even fell in love at the same time with each others' brothers when we were 14. I fell for Edward, who was two-years older than us and she fell for Jasper, my twin.

I pulled away and went back to the mirror. I straightened my dress and checked my make-up, trying to calm myself. "Al, I know you don't care for Jake, but he loves me and he's here for me _every_ single day and THAT is what I choose."

I could see from her reflection in the mirror that she had turned her back to me and that her hands were busy wiping tears from her face. I could see her take a deep breath and then she turned herself back around, taking a few short steps to my side. I could see her struggling to let go of what she wanted to say. And then she wrapped her arm around my back and rested her head against my shoulder, "Bells, if you love, I love him." She gave me a squeeze and then said, "I'm going to find Rose. I'll be right back." She turned and walked out of the door closing it quietly behind her.

I looked back into the mirror and quietly acknowledged to myself that Alice was right, I was still was very much in love with Edward Cullen. And then I just couldn't keep it contained any longer. My chest felt as if my heart had been ripped from chest and thrown onto the floor for everyone to see. I crumbled to the ground sobbing. To hell with the make-up and to hell with the dress, it didn't matter anymore. The only thing that mattered wasn't here. Edward wasn't here. Nobody knew where he was. Nobody knew if he was safe. And THAT is what I couldn't live with… having my life wrapped around the not knowing.

I couldn't help but think of the moment I blew it all apart…

A little more than 2 years ago…

He had only been home a few hours from his last mission and was sound asleep in our bed, in our apartment in San Diego. I was sitting up, crying, fiddling with the engagement ring that was burning itself into my finger, while watching Edward sleep. His face was beautiful and peaceful. He was on his stomach with his arms up under his pillow. The white sheet had come down to rest at the top of his perfect, muscular ass. As my eyes ran down his back I noticed his once perfect back was mottled with bruises. The worst of them seem to be on his right shoulder blade. I lifted my hand and traced the bruises with my fingers. Tears flowed down my cheeks as I wondered how he had gotten so beat up.

"Love?" he whispered, startling me making me pull my hand away from his back.

I turned slightly trying to hide my tears from him. "Hmmmm?" I asked and quickly wiped the tears from my cheeks.

He sat up and turned to me. Placing his long, powerful legs on either side of me and then he pulled me into his perfectly defined chest with his chiseled arms. My head instantly went to the spot that was home. My head rested on his broad shoulder with my nose right under his the base of his throat. I inhaled deeply and smelled _my_ Edward. I could still smell the fresh smell of our shower that night, but there was the faint sweet smell of his sweat that was uniquely him.

"Love, what's wrong?" Edward asked me quietly resting his cheek on my head.

"Nothing, Edward," I said as I tried to sink myself further into his chest. "Everything," I whispered, thinking he couldn't hear me.

"Can you explain?" he asked gently.

I slowly sat up, hesitant to pull away from his warm, familiar arms. I looked into the worried, determined green eyes of the only man I had ever loved and knew he wasn't going to let this go tonight. I placed my hand on his cheek and feigned a smile. "Baby, I'm just so overwhelmed right now. I am so happy that you are home that I almost don't know what to do with myself." He smiled his crooked sexy grin causing my breathing to hitch. I blushed and smiled in turn, "I said _almost_."

"Then what's with the tears, Bella?"

I took a deep breath. Knowing that this was always the crux of my problems with the career Edward had chosen. "What happened to your back?" I asked.

"It's nothing Bells. I'm fine." His answer was curt, knowing exactly where this conversation was heading. We had it every single time he came home injured from a mission.

I pulled away slightly, immediately becoming annoyed with his answer. "You can't tell me can you?"

"No," he answered bluntly.

"Fuck, Edward, your back is a bruised mess and you can't tell ME what the hell happened?!"

"No, Love, you know I can't." His posture had become rigid, as if he was stealing himself against what he knew was coming.

"You can't tell me anything can you? You can't even tell me where the fuck you were let alone what the fuck you were doing, right?!" I sniped at him.

"You know the answer to that," he said through gritted teeth.

And with that answer I pulled completely away from Edward. I turned my back to him and set my feet on the floor. I placed the palms of my hands on my thighs and I tried to hold myself up while my head sagged down to my chest. In my mind, I knew this was coming. I knew that I was not capable of being the wife of a SEAL. I needed more than he was capable of giving and he needed more than I was capable of giving. And it was killing me and _that_ was killing _US_. My heart on the other hand, wanted to stay. My heart wanted to crawl back into Edwards arms and let him kiss me until all I felt was him… us. My heart had won out so many times, but tonight the bruises on his back were a stark, bitter reminder of the reality that was his life. And being a SEAL was his life.

"Edward," I began with a lump in my throat, "I just can't do this anymore."

Edward was out of our bed and in front of me in a flash. "Look at me, Isabella," he quietly demanded. I looked up afraid of what I would see in his eyes. "You know I love you with all that I am. You know I only have 3 years left…," his voice faltered and then he took a deep breath. His eyes were begging me to stay and I had to look away.

I looked down at my hands and began, "Every time you leave my heart breaks. I never know where you are. I don't even know you're safe until you are home. And then I have to try and pull it all back together and act as if everything is fine." I looked up into Edwards face and my heart lurched, knowing this was it. This was the end. I began sobbing, "Every single night you are away from me, I cry myself to sleep wondering if you are ever coming home. It takes me weeks to _almost_ function as a normal person." I paused for a second to catch my breath, "and then I will hear something on the radio or see something on the news that makes me wonder if you are there. And when they say that soldiers were wounded or killed my heart breaks again wondering if it's you." I couldn't keep the hurt contained any further and the sobs racked my body as I continued, "And from the moment you leave me until the moment I see your face, I am afraid of EVERY phone call and of EVERY knock on the door. I am afraid that it will be the one that tells me that you are gone… that you have made the ultimate sacrifice for me, for your family and for your country… and I am not sure I could live through that."

Edward took a step towards me and placed both of hands on either side of my face. "Love, I have told you time and again, that my squad is solid, we have yet…."

I interrupted, "don't say it!" I pulled my face out of his hands and they found their place on my shoulders. "Just because it hasn't happened doesn't mean that it won't! Soldiers are lost all of the time and you know as well as I do that it doesn't always have to do with how good their squad is!"

Edward squeezed my shoulder gently, "I love you, Bella. You are the reason I make it home. You are the reason I have to come back… no one else, nothing else."

I shrugged his hands off my shoulders and looked up at him, "If you love me, how can you be okay with the pain I go through every time you leave me? This isn't good for me anymore. You're gone so much and I'm miserable more often than I'm happy anymore!"

Edward pulled back and stepped away. His face had contorted into a sad, painful grimace. He turned and walked to our closet and shut the door behind him. I knew this was what I needed to do, but the pain that was clearly written across Edwards face was too much to bear. I got up and made my way to our bathroom. I was shocked at my own reflection in the mirror. My eyes were blood-shot and swollen from crying. My face was splotchy and my lips were swollen from our earlier reunion. There was a small hicky just above my collar bone and many small bite marks spread over my shoulders, neck and chest. He had marked me, just like he always did… before he left me and when he came back to me.

I threw on my robe and stepped out of the bathroom to find Edward fully dressed, sitting on our bed with his head in his hands, looking completely broken. The strongest and smartest man I had ever met looked absolutely shattered. What had I done? I leaned back into the door frame, holding on to it trying like hell not to run back into his arms to try and fix the mess I had just made.

Edward looked up at me with tear-filled eyes and shook his head slightly as he whispered, "If you're leaving, I can't stay and watch you go."

I pushed myself off the door frame and threw myself onto Edward. My lips crashed into his and we began to kiss each other furiously. My hands were fisting his hair as his made quick work of my robe. He pushed me back and stood up, pulling his t-shirt over his head while I worked on the button fly of his jeans. In a matter of seconds we were both naked, wrapped in each others' arms trying desperately to hold on to what little we had left. He sat back down on the bed and pulled me onto his lap, moving his thick erection to stand between us. I straddled his legs and wrapped my legs around his waist. Edward began to viscously suck on neck, making sure to leave another mark. I gasped and leaned back placing my hands on his thighs, arching my chest into his face. He took one nipple into his mouth sucking hard and biting even harder. One of his hands found my other nipple where he began to tweak and pull causing me to moan and writhe on his lap. He eased his other hand from my back towards my wet and throbbing sex. He teased my lips, avoiding my center, as he continued to work my nipples. My hips began to jerk towards his hand seeking out any friction that I could find. He knew exactly what I wanted and then he gave it to me and slowly began to rub circles around my clit. Within in seconds, I was coming apart in his hands and just when I thought the feeling was waning, he roughly pinched my clit making me cum even harder.

Edward pulled me to his chest and held me while I calmed down. This was always our perfect moment. Our moment when we were completely content and absolutely nothing else in the world mattered. It was only Edward and Bella. I pulled up and began to kiss him again. I gently began exploring his tongue with my own. The kiss started slow and languid and began to build back to the furious intensity that had become our love. He pulled me up and placed the head of his rigid cock at the entrance of my pussy. I slowly impaled myself on him causing him to gasp.

I began to move against him, grinding myself into him as hard as I could. He began to counter my motions with his own making me pant his name. His hands went to my ass where he began to guide my movements. I quickly figured out what he wanted and pulled my feet back and under my legs and began ride Edward the way he liked. Pulling up so that just the head of his cock was left inside of me and then slamming back down into his lap, where I ground into him as hard as I could. He groaned and leaned back onto his elbows, gaining just enough leverage and changing the angle just enough to hit the spot deep inside of that always sent me over the edge. I lifted and then slammed and moving myself against him, loving every thrust that was causing my body to tense and tighten. "Just once more," I whined as my hips came down again.

He pushed himself forward and wrapped his arms around me. His lips found mine and he kissed me deeply as I came around his cock. I circled my hips one last time and he squeezed me harder, "holy fuck, Bella" he whimpered into my neck as he came. We both were panting as he pulled us down onto the bed. I fell asleep content and wrapped in the safety of Edwards' arms.

I woke up the next morning and immediately felt around the bed for Edward. He wasn't there, but I found a note on his pillow. I picked it up and held it to my chest, scared to death of what it would say. I took a deep breath and raised the note to my eyes.

_Bella,_

_I don't want you to hurt anymore. _

_Be happy, Love._

_Edward_

I was crushed. He left without saying goodbye. He had never done that before, ever. How could he do that? And then I remembered, "_I can't stay and watch you go._"

I stayed in bed and cried all day and most of the night. The next morning I made a few phone calls and found that Edward was staying with a member of his team and that he would not be coming back until I was gone. I called Alice and Jasper to see if I could stay with them in Jacksonville until I could get a place of my own and they sadly agreed. I left a message for Edward telling him that I would be gone in three days. On the third day, I left the engagement ring on his pillow and left our apartment in tears.

10 years was dissolved in an instant that no matter how much I wanted to I couldn't and wouldn't take it back.

I went to Jacksonville, lived with Alice and Jasper until I got back on my feet. About 6 months later, I met Jacob Black. We worked at the same high school. I taught American Literature. He taught Biology and was the Varsity Soccer coach. He was sweet and kind and there at every turn to help me try and forget Edward. I didn't tell him that forgetting Edward was never going to happen. I just wanted to move forward and that's what I did. I dated Jake and eventually I fell in love with him. It wasn't the mad, passionate, all-consuming, unpredictable love I had with Edward. It was tender, sweet, stable and safe. And when Jake proposed it seemed like the logical and right thing to do.

* * *

a/n: Thanks for reading and please, pretty please, let me know what you think...


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Twilight... but I do love it so...

a/n: Thanks for reading...

* * *

Chapter 2

I was brought out of my revelry by a knock on my dressing room door. "Bella?"I heard a muffled voice on the other side of the door.

"I need a few minutes, please," I begged and whoever was on the other side of the door went away.

I stood back up and looked at myself in the mirror. My make-up was ruined. I grabbed my make-up bag and began to pull everything out to start all over again. I straightened the skirt of my dress. It looked very similar to the dress I wore to Edward's Junior Prom. It was a very simple satin ball gown with cap sleeves. The only difference was this dress was white and my Prom dress was light blue.

When Edward picked me up that night our parents took the obligatory pictures. As that first picture was taken that night, he leaned in and whispered in my ear, "You look like a princess tonight, Bella, _my _beautiful princess." He squeezed me tighter and my mother snapped the most beautiful picture ever taken of the two of us together. We were leaning into each other and he was looking down at me with a slight smile on his face. I was looking up, lost in his liquid green eyes. That night we made love for the very first time.

I took a deep breath and started my make-up. Thoughts of Edward picking me up in his tuxedo flooded my mind. We went to four Proms together: his junior and senior and my junior and senior. I giggled out loud at the idea that the only thing sexier than Edward in a tuxedo was Edward in his dress whites. There was something about that uniform above all the others that turned me into jelly. It was more than just the uniform, it was the attitude that he possessed when he wore it. It fit him like a glove and he was damn proud of each and every ribbon, stripe and medal that adorned his white, crisp jacket. He worked so hard to be the best and that jacket bore the evidence of all his accomplishments.

I smiled as I finished my make-up knowing I was doing the last thing he ever asked of me. Edward told me to be happy. And I am. Jake is a good man and he makes me happy.

I straightened my veil as there was another knock on the door. This time the door opened and my Bridesmaid, Rosalie, stuck her smiling head through the door.

"Hey girl-friend," she beamed, "you about ready to do this?" She walked into the room and came and stood behind me. "You look absolutely beautiful," she beamed.

"Thanks, Rose," I sighed, "how much longer?"

"Probably another 30 minutes. You getting cold feet?" she asked as she nudged my arm.

"Nope, I'm good. Just ready to get this show on the road," I turned and winked at Rose.

"Is there anything you need while you're waiting? I should go and get Alice… where'd your Mom go?" Rose seemed to just realize that I had been left alone in the dressing room. "Why are you in here all by yourself?"

"Well, Mom wanted to go find Charlie and Alice got upset and went to go find you. But, I really think that she went to go find Jazz."

Rose looked perplexed. "Do I even want to know?" she asked.

I shook my head no.

Rose was pissed, "What in the hell is that little Pixie thinking? Today of all days, she couldn't keep her fidgety little ass quiet."

I immediately started giggling at Rose's assessment. I grabbed her hand and squeezed, "Rose, its' ok. She just wants me to happy. She thinks settling is a bad thing."

Rose shook her head in shock, "What did you just say? Settling? Do _you_ see yourself as _settling_?"

I wasn't expecting my statement to be turned on me. I figured Rose would rally around me like she always does. Instead she took the same exception as Alice, without the brotherly bias. Rose had never met Edward and had only heard stories from me, Jasper and Alice.

"Rose, I am going to tell you exactly what I told Alice," I cleared my throat, needing to be succinct, "Jake loves me and he's here for me _every_ day and THAT is what I choose."

"But, Bells," she looked me dead in the eyes, "Do you love Jake? I mean really love him? Do you need him like you need the air that you _breathe_? Because, personally, I am not getting hitched to _ANY_ man until I can't breathe without him."

That's it… that pissed me the fuck off. "Dammit! What the hell is wrong with you two? Why can't you both just shut the hell up and support me?"

Roses' eyes became as big as saucers. She took a deep breath and then continued, "Listen Missy, we love you and we just want the world for you. Excuse us if we want you to have a higher standard than just always being around!" She let go of my hand and started for the door.

"Rose, wait…"

"No, I'm going to calm down and find Alice." As she stepped out the door she stopped and looked back at me, "Isabella, if you love Jake and you are happy with Jake then I am happy for you. And I am sorry I lost my temper." Then she was gone.

.Fuck.

The dressing room quickly felt like a cage. The walls felt like they were closing in around me and I needed some fresh air before I imploded. I peeked out the door and then looked both ways and saw that no one was in the hall. I knew that at the end of the hall there was a door that led out to a small patio on the back side of the church. I decided to go out to the patio and clear my head. I made it easily out the door without being seen. This side of the church was secluded and the chance of anyone seeing me once I was outside was slim to none.

Once I made my way outside I took a deep breath of fresh air and I turned and leaned my shoulder against the door, facing the back of the church. I had hoped the fresh air would clear my head, but instead the clean, cool air burned my throat and lungs, making me gasp. I rested my head against the door and the tears, once again, began to fall. I took a deep breath, trying to choke back the tears.

'This shouldn't be so hard. This should be easy,' I thought, 'If I loved Jake the way I was supposed to this would be easy. If I loved Edward the way I was supposed to he and I would already be married.' "FUCK!!!!!!" I yelled in total exasperation.

"Isn't the Bride supposed to be happy on her wedding day?" a deep familiar voice asked.

I jumped and spun around. My heart was in my throat and I couldn't swallow it back down. Edward was standing in front of me in his dress whites… starched and pressed, looking absolutely beautiful with his trademark sexy as hell half-grin.

I hesitated for only a moment, trying to catch my breath. And in the next breath, I was in his arms sobbing. His hands began to stroke my back trying to soothe me.

"Bella, love," he whispered, "It is going to be okay. Calm down."

"But, you're here." I pulled back and was met by his familiar, striking green eyes. I smiled, "how did you know?"

He smiled down at me, "Alice may be your best friend, but she is _my_ sister after all." He smirked, "Did you really think I would ever NOT know where you were or what you were doing?"

"So… what? You were just waiting for my wedding day to come back into my life?" I was trying not to be angry, but I just didn't understand. It was beginning to feel like everyone was taking a turn fucking with my head today.

"No Bells. That's not it at all." He shook his head letting go of my waist and then he took my hand. "I need a minute to explain." He looked flustered, but I was so happy to see him that I didn't care about the explanation. It didn't matter anymore. Not to me.

"Edward?" I interjected.

"Yes, Love?" Edward cocked his head, smiling down at me with his sparkling green eyes.

"Do you still love me?" I smiled up at him, squeezing his hand.

"Yes. I love you as much now as ever." He pulled me towards him so that we were toe to toe.

"Then get me the hell out of here." I got up onto my tip-toes and quickly kissed his lips. His arms wrapped around my waist and he picked me up so that I was at his eye level.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes! There isn't a doubt in my mind. For the first time this morning, I have no doubts." I threw my arms around his neck and we kissed again. And that kiss felt like home.

He set me back on the ground and rested his forehead against mine. "Is there anyone we should tell that you are leaving?"

I felt the familiar lump return to my throat and whispered, "Jake."

Edward pulled away and our eyes met. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I need to speak to Jake alone."

I took his hand and headed back inside. I turned the corner with Edward in tow and slammed head long into a warm chest that bounced me back into Edward. I looked up to see Jake's face full of anger and confusion.

Jake was glowering down at me. "What the fuck is going on here, Bella?" he growled. His voice had an angry edge that I had never heard before. He had never spoken to me like that before and it startled me.

I stepped forward and placed a hand on his chest, "Jake, come into the dressing room so we can talk."

"No, Bella." His gaze shifted from me to Edward standing behind me.

"Please Jake. This involves you and me, no one else." He exhaled and I could feel his body stiffen against my hand.

"Well, Bella, I don't FUCKING see it that way." He shifted to the side trying to get past me while leering at Edward, "you must be the infamous Edward fucking Cullen."

I immediately found myself in between a rock and the proverbial hard place. Jake had reached over me to get to Edward and Edward had pulled me back into him, and spun me to the wall while trying to shield me from Jake.

"What the hell are you doing, Jake?" I yelped.

I heard a sharp crack and turned to see Edward pushing Jake's face into the wall opposite me. Jake was trying to push against Edward, but Edward was using Jake's arm as leverage, keeping him pinned to the wall.

"Let . me . fucking . go." Jake growled.

"Are you going to behave yourself?" Edward asked as he pushed his elbow into the middle of Jake's back.

Jake managed to get one his legs between the wall and himself and he launched them back across to the other side of the hallway. Edward instinctively let go of Jake, jumping back to avoid the wall as he yelled, "Bella, get out of here!"

I immediately turned away from them and ran down the hallway towards the chapel. I threw open the door to the sanctuary and yelled for my Dad. I turned back to see Jake lunge at Edward and Edward parry Jake to the side and then swiftly knee him in the gut as Jake was falling toward the floor.

"Bells," my Dad asked as he grabbed my shoulder startling me, "What in the hell is going on?" I turned and faced my Dad and noticed Jasper was right behind him.

"Please, Daddy you have to get them to stop." Dad was looking at me and then looking over my head at Edward and Jake. He shook his head.

My Dad muttered, "Shit," and then made his way around me, "Ok Bells, I got it."

Jasper followed my Dad. As he passed me I heard him laugh, "Oh fuck, Jake's gonna get his ass beat."

I turned to follow Jazz down the hall, when Alice and Rose flew in behind me to see what was happening. The three of us followed Jazz to stand behind my Dad, who was standing with his hands on his hips pleading with Jake to stop fighting Edward.

"Jake, come on Buddy, just be still," my Dad laughed, shaking his head.

I peeked around Dad to see Jake flat on the floor with Edward holding one of Jake's arms behind his back at an extremely acute angle, while driving his knee into the middle of Jake's back. Rose and Alice were both leaning around me to get a better view. Alice immediately threw her hand over her mouth to stifle her giggle. But, Rose just started laughing her ass off. "Shut up," I muttered to the pair, shooting them hard glances. They both just rolled their eyes at me and continued their giggling.

"JAKE," my Dad yelled, "STOP RESISTING AND EDWARD WILL LET YOU UP... Right, Edward?"

Edward turned and nodded to Dad and then leaned down and said something quietly in Jake's ear. Jake fought harder for a second and then head-butted the floor in frustration. "FUCK!" he spat and then he became oddly still. Then, I heard Jake say, "I will stop. I swear."

Edward slowly took the knee from Jake's back, but continued to keep him in check by keeping his arm tweaked behind his back. Jasper stepped in and helped Edward assist Jake to his feet. Once Jake was steadily back on his two feet, he glanced at the audience that had assembled in the hallway and then his face turned deep red in embarrassment. "You can let go of me now," he muttered, yanking his shoulder away from Edward. Edward released his arm and stepped back and away from Jake, leaving Jake rubbing his shoulder. Jasper stepped back and quietly started talking to Edward.

I felt so bad for Jake. I couldn't take my eyes away from his pained face. I wanted to do something to make this easier for him, but I knew there was nothing I could do. I stepped past my Dad and stood in front of Jake. I looked into his big brown eyes and felt awful for how I had strung him along. Jake looked down at me and then hissed, "What Bella? What do you want now?"

"Can we talk?" I asked quietly.

Jake shook his head side to side in disgust, "you know Bells, I really don't think there is anything left to say."

"Jake," I took a deep breath, trying to hold back tears, "I… I am so sorry…" was all I could come up with.

Jake's expression turned from disbelief to ire, "What EXACTLY are you sorry for?" he spat. "Are you sorry for fucking me when you really wanted to be fucking him? Are you sorry for saying you loved me when you were really in love with him? Or are you sorry for breaking my heart on our fucking wedding day? _What the fuck are you really sorry for_?"

I was stunned. Jake had never talked to me like that, ever. A felt a tear roll down my cheek, but didn't bother to wipe it away. "I'm sorry for ALL of it Jake. I'm just sorry I hurt you," I whispered.

In a flash, Jake roughly grabbed my arms, squeezing me hard. And then he leaned down into my face, his nose was almost touching mine and I was face to face with a man that I had never met before. "Bullshit," he said through clenched teeth, "you're sorry because you have fucked up and you can't come up with an excuse to get out of this mess that you made. You're just a sorry selfish little bitch."

I tried to pull away, but he was too strong. "Jake, you're…" before I could finish telling him that he was hurting me Jake let go and spun around.

"WHAT?" Jake yelled.

I heard Edward say, "Shut the fuck up." Suddenly, pair of hands grabbed my waist and pulled me back a few feet, just as Jake came flying backward, hitting the wall right next to me with a hard thud and then he slid down to the ground and fell onto his side. I looked up to see Edward shaking his hand because he had just knocked Jake the fuck out.

I looked up to see it was my Dad who had pulled me out of the way. I pulled away from my Dad, stepped over Jake and found my way back into Edwards' arms. Edward took my hand and led me down the hall where he shook my Dad's hand. I heard my Dad say, "take care of our girl," as he clapped Edward on the back and kissed the top of my head. Edward's reply was simple, "yes, sir." He tucked me under his arm and I wound my arms around his waist, putting my head against his chest as we made our way out of the church.

Edward took me to his car and opened the door. "Anything you need?" he asked with a sexy-as-hell grin across his face, as he sat me down into the car.

"Everything I need is right here." I smiled up at him. I was overjoyed to be looking into his crystal clear green eyes. His hand made its' way to my chin where he cradled my face. He leaned down and gently placed a single sweet kiss on my lips.

He pulled back and smiled a smile that reached his eyes making them dance with happiness. "Let's get the hell out here," he grinned. He shut my door and ran around to his side and quickly jumped in and started the car. In the next instant we were gone and the church was quickly fading away in the rearview mirror.

Edward took my hand and brought it to his lips for a quick kiss. "Bells," he began, "we need to talk."

I agreed, "Yes, baby we do. Where can we go?"

"I thought we could go to my parent's beach house. I know they are staying in town with Jasper and Alice, so the beach house should be empty."

"Okay, maybe we should text Alice and let her know we need some time."

Edward nodded his head. "Do you have your phone?" he asked.

"Ummm… no, I don't have anything with me."

"Open the glove box. Mine is in there."

I opened the glove box and easily found Edward's Palm Pre. I had to laugh. "We have the same phone."

Edward grinned, "of course we do. Great minds think alike," he winked.

I quickly texted Alice telling her where we were going and what our plans were and that we would get in touch with everyone when we were ready.

She simply replied, "K".

It didn't seem to take us very long to get to his parents' house. He pulled forward into the driveway and shut off the car. Edward turned his body to face me. Smiling, I looked over at him. It seemed surreal that I was here with Edward on what was supposed to be my wedding day. Edward was the only man I was supposed to marry. I knew that now. I also knew that I was willing to do whatever I had to do to stay in Edward's life.

Edward squeezed my hand and asked, "You ready?"

"Yeah, baby, I am." I squeezed his hand back.

After fumbling with the keys, we quickly made our way inside the house. As I stepped inside to pass Edward, he grabbed me by the waist and pulled me into him so that my back was pressed into his chest. One arm snaked around my waist holding me tightly to him while the other wrapped across my chest with his hand finding purchase on my breast. I craned my head around searching for Edwards lips. He leaned down and kissed me fiercely. I moaned when he released my lips and began kissing down my neck.

"Bella, I have missed you so much," Edward sighed into my shoulder. His hand that had been around my waist had made its way down and was pushing between my legs, making me want him even more.

"Show me," I whispered and Edward bit down on my shoulder making me gasp, "fuck".

Edward pushed me forward so that my chest was pressed against the wall. He bit me again, closer to my neck this time and then began to suck, hard. One of hands found its way inside my dress taking turns teasing and pulling each nipple. The other must have found the zipper on the back of my dress, because the dress was in a puddle on the floor before I could figure out how that happened. I felt his hand ease in between my legs and cup my sex. "Damn, baby you're so wet," Edward groaned into my neck.

My pussy began to throb and I pushed my ass back into Edward and felt his erection push against me. It had been so long since I had felt anything like this. The intensity that radiated between Edward and me was so strong it made me ache to feel him deep inside of me. "Please, baby, I need you inside me," I pled, hoping he would make me feel whole again.

I heard his zipper and he eagerly obliged. He ripped my panties from my body and smoothly guided his cock into me. He pulled back and then thrust into me again, gasping, "Shit, you're so hot… you feel so good."

I tried to brace myself against the door so I could take all he had to give me. I tried to match him stroke for stroke, but he was too much. This reunion was too much. Having him inside me was simply overwhelming. I never thought that it would happen ever and again, but here we were fucking against the door. As if he could feel what I was thinking, Edward's motion became erratic and his grip on my hips grew tighter, "Bella, I'm gonna cum…" he moaned and with a few more hard thrusts he came with a shudder.

As we began to catch our breaths, Edward wrapped his arms around me and I felt his warm chest against my back. Edward began kissing my shoulder and eventually worked his way up to my ear. "I'm sorry, love," he said quietly, as he gave me a squeeze.

"Why are you sorry?" I asked.

"That was all about me and I wanted for it to be about _us_," he replied.

"Baby, there is absolutely nothing to be sorry about," I turned in his arms and took his face into my hands, "being with you is always so good." I kissed his lips and then pulled away with a smile, "besides, I know you will make it up to me." I winked and he laughed, pulling me into a hug.

"Would you like to take a shower, Love?" he asked in a sweet whisper.

I nodded my head and he scooped me up and carried me to the bedroom. He sat me down on the bed and went to start the shower. When he returned, he kneeled in front of me and rested his head on my lap. I ran my hands through his closely cropped auburn hair and reveled in the comfort that was me and Edward. I knew that I could never be apart from him again. I needed to be with Edward more than I had ever needed anything in my life. _I needed him to breath_.

"Baby," I questioned.

"Hmmmm?" he nuzzled my legs.

"I'm going back to San Diego with you." He raised his head and looked into my eyes. "I know you don't have much time left in and I'm coming with you." I put my hands on either side of his face, "I'm never leaving you again."

His smiled up at me, his green eyes were sparkling and I could see them begin to well up with tears, "okay baby, are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes, I am very, _very_ sure." I leaned forward to kiss his beautiful lips and he met me half-way. Our kiss was sweet and slow, just absolutely perfect.

He pulled back slightly and smiled, "come on, let's get clean," he stood up and pulled me up towards the bathroom and I followed willingly.

I found myself to be slightly overwhelmed. There were so many emotions flooding my mind. I was sorry for hurting Edward and hoped that I could make it up to him and we could get past my leaving him and I was so happy to be here with him that I couldn't see straight.

* * *

a/n: thank you so much for reading... please review and show me some love... or hate... just let me know how I am doing... Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Twilight...

a/n: sorry. This took a little longer than expected. R/l has kicked my butt this last week. Caught a cold and trying to keep up with the fam kept my tired and distracted.

Happy reading...

* * *

Chapter 3

2 months later…

"Hey, Baby, could you bring that clothes basket up, please?" I yelled down the stairs to Edward. I was upstairs stripping the bed in our guest bedroom and I needed him to bring the basket of sheets upstairs so I could re-make the bed.

"Sure, Love," he said, causing me to startle and spin around to find him leaning against the frame of the door wearing nothing but his sexy half-grin and a pair of blue jeans. Oh yeah, he was holding the baskets of linens, too.

Edward chuckled as I caught my breath. "Damn you are too freakin' light on your feet," I laughed.

He sets the basket on the dresser and begins to stalk his way over to me. "Yeah, but you get pretty absorbed in what you're doing and make it pretty easy to sneak up on you."

I can tell by the look on his face and the way he making his way towards me that he is not planning on helping me make the bed. "Edward," I say in my strictest, not right now voice.

"Yes, Love?" he says. He is smirking at me and his jade green eyes are sparkling with mischief.

I am trying to maintain eye contact, because as soon as I look away I know he will pounce and tackle me down onto the bed. My eyes inadvertently scan down his toned, muscular chest … and just as he attacks I try to jump up and onto the bed. I almost make it, but he grabs a hold of my ankle and pulls me back towards him. I am squirming and wrestling against his grip, trying to get away. But, he is too strong. Before I know it has hands are on my hips flipping me over and then he is tickling my stomach and sides making me laugh and giggle like a loon.

"Stop," I giggle.

"Make me," he challenges as he straddles my legs and continues to tickle my sides, making me laugh so hard that it is beginning to hurt.

I try to pull my legs out from under him, but he's too heavy. I grab at his hands wanting to distract him from tickling, but he quickly manages to take both of wrists into one of his hands and pulls them both up over my head, effectively pinning me to the bed. He smoothly pushes himself up so that he is straddling my hips and leaning over me. His free hand has found its way to a spot on my stomach where my shirt has ridden up and he is tracing along the waist of my pants. I can't help but buck up against him when he reaches the sensitive spots at my hips. He is looking at me like he wants to devour me and it makes me long for him to be between my legs.

"Baby," I groan. I have to look away from his eyes before I implode and my gaze falls down to his chest and immediately lurch forward trying, but failing as he pulls back, to bite his nipple.

"Easy, Love," he teases, "I will take care of you. I promise." His hand traces up my side and ends up cupping my breast. I try to push myself further into his hand, aching for friction, but he doesn't give me what I want. He just keeps his hand still.

"Edward," I groan as he nips at my neck, "we need to…" he traces my jaw-line with his nose and I can hear him breathing in my ear, "… stop…" I whisper meekly.

"You _really_ want me to stop?" he teases as he breathes into my ear and then takes my earlobe between his teeth and lets go of my wrists.

I quickly threw my arms up and around his neck holding him to me. "Mmmm," I hummed. I really don't want him to stop, but in the back of my mind, I know we need to, "we have a people coming over and we aren't close to being ready." I looked up into his eyes, silently pleading for him to wait until later.

He is smiling down at me, "Come on, Bells," he wiggles his eyebrows, "I will make it worth your while." And I know he will and when I open my mouth to respond, I am immediately quieted by Edward's mouth over mine. His tongue is twisting and teasing my own and it is all I can do not to moan. I can't help but respond. One of my hands makes it way to the hair at the back of his head, while the other begins stroking up and down his back. He moves quickly to position himself between my legs giving me just enough friction that I am all too willing to forget about getting ready for our barbeque.

Suddenly Edward pulls his head up and away from mine. I open my eyes to see him completely still and looking back over his shoulder. "Did you hear that?" he asks. He sits up, waiting.

_Ding-dong_

"It's the doorbell," I murmur. I glance over at the clock and see that we have two hours before our friends are supposed to arrive. "You did tell the guys Noon, right?"

"Yeah," he stands up, "I will get it." He offers me a hand and then leaves me sitting on the bed to go and see who is at the door.

I get up and right my clothes and my pony tail and then quickly make the bed. I throw the old sheets in the laundry basket that Edward brought upstairs and head out of the room. I hear Edward talking to someone downstairs and can't help but be annoyed. I am heading downstairs, laundry basket in hand, to see who is at the door and I can't help but grumble, "If Emmett has come over this early, I am putting his ass to work."

Emmet, Edward's 'right-hand man', has been known t drop by unannounced and come over an hour or so ahead of the planned time. I'm used to it, now. But there have been times when Emmett inadvertently cock-blocked us and it just pissed me the hell off. When I asked Edward to say something to Emmett about it Edward explained to me Emmett's situation. Edward told me that Emmett has no family and when I left Edward a couple of years ago the two became very close. At first, Edward was very closed off to everyone and his single-minded focus was his job. All Edward did was show up to work, work-out, eat and sleep, until Emmett intervened. The two kept running into each other at the gym and eventually they agreed to work-out together, which eventually led to the pair going out for wings and beer after, which eventually led to drunken discussions about me and Edward and all the highs and lows that occurred. At some point in time, Emmett pointed out to Edward that he could have told me more than what he did without breaking the rules. He also repeatedly pointed out to Edward that he still was very much in love with me and that he was stupid to let me go.

Emmett, literally, was the push that Edward needed to come and get me from Jacksonville. Emmett secretly requested weekend leave for Edward, bought the plane ticket and drove Edward to the airport and left him on the sidewalk telling Edward, "If you come back here without her, I'm beating your ass!" And when Edward brought me back to San Diego, Emmett immediately saw me as the sister he never had and treated me as such. That included being doused with the hose on occasion, headlocks and noogies way too often, and constant teasing about _everything_ under the sun. But, once Edward explained all that had passed between them, I realized that _WE_ were Emmett's family. It didn't make it 100% better, but it made it tolerable.

As I made it to the foot of the stairs, I heard Edward talking to what sounded a like a familiar male voice, but it was definitely not Emmett's. I really wasn't sure who had come over, but as soon as I heard a distinctly feminine, twinkling laugh I dropped the laundry basket and haphazardly sprinted into our foyer and was stunned to see Alice and my brother standing there hand in hand smiling and laughing with Edward.

"Alice?" I half-shouted at the pair, "Jazz! What are you guys doing here?" I was immediately hugging Alice, trying not to cry. It had only been two months, but it felt like forever. I pulled back and glared at my brother who was laughing at me and making faces to Edward. "And you… Jazz, I just talked to you last night and you said you guys were too busy to even think about visiting any time soon!" I swatted at him, trying to hit his arm, but he easily dodged my half-hearted attempts.

"Well," he began as he went to stand next to Edward, "Your boy here wanted us to come and surprise you for your birthday. So, here we are." They were both smiling from ear-to-ear.

I abruptly let go of Alice and grab Edward by the shirt and look up at his handsome, grinning face, "You knew about this?" I growled.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and picked me up so that we are eye level. "Knew about it?" he teased, "I planned it." And before I can give him a hard time his lips are pressed against mine and I can't help but smile against his.

Edward set me down and pulled me into a hug. "Thanks, Baby", I smiled into his chest. We let go of each other and I stepped over to Jasper.

"I'm so happy to see you, Jazz," I say as I leaned in and give him a hug.

He hugged me back for a second and then gave me a goofy grin and a wink, "I'm happy to be here Bells."

Edward suggested the guys go and get the luggage while I show Alice around the house. I take Alice's arm into mine and begin to show her around.

Before Edward and I had split up we had talked about looking for a home on the ocean. We really loved the beaches of Coronado, but the houses there were waaaaaay out of our price range. We used to bike along Ocean Blvd admiring the different homes. We would stop and eat lunch on the boulders that separated the beach from the road across from some of our favorites. We would discuss what we liked or disliked about one or the other. We talked about colors, styles, layouts… you name it we discussed it and figured out how we wanted it done.

One of the things he did before he came and got me back was to buy a house. It really wasn't a house, it was THE house. Edward didn't tell me where he bought, just that he had done something impulsive and he hoped that I liked it. On the plane, I tried and tried to get him to give me any little detail, but he refused to tell me anything. When we arrived at the airport we were greeted with bear-hugs from Emmett and then he handed Edward his keys, slapped him on the back and told us he would see us later. Once we made our way to Edward's Volvo, he asked with a crooked grin, "Where do you want to go for lunch?"

I shook my head at him, "Oh no, buddy!" I challenged, "You need to take me home. I want to see this house you won't tell me anything about." I slid into the passenger seat, ready to go.

He just laughed as he positioned himself behind the wheel, "Ok, but that means I'm gonna have to blindfold you." He had shifted his body slightly so that his shoulders were tilted towards me. He tongue peeked out and he licked his bottom lip. I swear he was trying to distract me.

I leaned towards him and pushed myself over the middle console. "Do what you must," I whispered, "I'm ready to go home." Our lips crashed together, causing us each to groan. His hands found their way into my hair, eventually casing my head t tilt back, lifting my chin up just enough for Edward to have access to my neck. He nipped and kissed his way down my neck to my collar bone, making me squirm in my seat.

The slamming door of a nearby car brought me out of my Edward-induced haze. "Edward," I moaned.

He traced a line from the base of my throat to my earlobe with his tongue, "Yes, Love?" he exhaled. His breath cooled the places his tongue had just been making me shiver.

"Take me home," I pled, "because if you don't stop, I'm gonna be over there in your lap in a minute."

Edward laughed quietly to himself as his head slid down to rest on my shoulder. I could still feel his breath tickling the skin of my chest. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's not really that big of a deal," he sighed, "I guess I'm just a little nervous."

"Why, Baby?"

"Well, I went and made this huge decision without you… what if you don't like it? What if you decide to…" his voice trailed off not finishing his thought.

I pulled back from him and his head sprang up, but instead of looking at me he was looking out the front of his car. "Edward, look at me," I implored. He slowly turned his head to face me and I could see the concern written across his handsome face. I reached up and cradled his face in my hands, "Edward…" I took a deep breath because I didn't want to cry and with the emotional roller coaster we had been on over the last four days all of our feelings and insecurities we right at the surface. "I love you. I've always loved you. And I'm not ever leaving your side again. _NEVER AGAIN_. You are stuck with me." I kissed his lips gently and then continued, "I will do whatever I have to do, to show you that I'm not going anywhere without you." His eyes filled with tears and he kissed me before he couldn't hold the tears back any longer.

"I love you, Isabella," he whispered into my hair as he pulled me into a hug.

"Then take me home," I whispered in reply. We hugged for a moment longer and then he finally pulled away.

Edward opened his glove box and began rifling through it looking for something. He let out an "Aha" and then turned to face me with a wicked grin easing across his face. He held out his hand showing me a blind fold.

"Why do you have _that_ in your car?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Why do you think?" was his sassy retort.

I just shrugged my shoulders in uncertainty. "I dunno…" I mumbled.

"Silly girl," he continued to smile and shook his head. "I asked Emmett to put it in here when he brought my car to the airport this morning." He leaned towards me and kissed my temple. "Now, come here so I can put this on you and get us home."

"Ok," I squeaked and leaned forward. He gently placed the blindfold over my eyes and then eased the elastic strap behind my head.

"You ok?" Edward asked as he shifted the blindfold slightly, making sure I couldn't see anything.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Can we get going now?"

"Sure, Love," he said while starting the car. "It won't take us very long to get home," he reassured me and backed the car out of its' spot.

I decided to try and be patient. I reclined the set and tried to relax, but then I just couldn't get comfortable and kept shifting around. I heard Edward chuckle out loud and just couldn't keep silent any longer. "What?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

"It's killing you, isn't it?" he laughed.

"No," I replied defensively, "I just can't get comfortable."

"Uh huh… sure, _that's_ what it is." I felt his hand come to rest on my thigh and I relaxed slightly. "We will be there in five minutes or so." He squeezed my leg and I sighed. "You know, Bells, I was really expecting more of a fight out of you."

I smiled to myself, "I decided to just relax and go with it. I could see how nervous you were and I just thought I should give you a break."

"Wow! That's a first!" he scoffed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I took a deep breath and exhaled in a huff. Here I was trying to be considerate of his feelings and he's going to give me grief… the nerve.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. Don't get mad." Edward squeezed my thigh again, hitting a rather ticklish spot making me lurch away from his hand. "It's just… well… in the past you would have done everything in your power to ruin my surprise. And _now_, you are letting me have my moment. I just don't think that has _ever_ happened before today."

"Oh, well… ok… thanks? I guess." What he was saying made absolute sense. I never really tolerated surprises before this one. "Baby, all I know right now is that I am beyond grateful to have you back in my life. I don't want to fight you on _anything, ever again_." I heard him try to contain a laugh. "Don't get me wrong, I know we will fight, but it's ridiculous to fight with you because you are trying to do something nice for me."

"Bella, I'm just a little stunned over here." I could hear him clear his throat. I could feel the car slow and shift slightly. The car stopped and he took my hands into his, "We're here, Love. I'm gonna come around and get you out, but I need you to keep the blindfold on until I take it off of you. Ok?"

My heart was beating rapidly. I swallowed hard and eked out a quiet, "ok."

I heard him unbuckle his seat belt and open his door. Another car passed by and then his door closed abruptly. Within seconds my door was opening and I could hear the constant rumble of the Pacific Ocean in the background and the car was immediately filled with salty-sweet sea air.

We were at the beach!

Edward unbuckled my seat belt and took my hand, "Come on, Love." He guided my legs out the side of the car and then placed on hand over the top of my head as he pulled me forward to stand with his other hand. I stood there not sure what to do. My insides were quaking with anticipation and I really wasn't sure how much more I could stand. I could feel Edward come to stand behind me. He rested his chin on my shoulder, "You ready?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm _beyond_ ready," I gasped in anticipation.

I could feel him begin to adjust the blindfold when he told me, "Keep your eyes closed so they can adjust. It's really bright out here."

I just nodded. Once the band was off of the back of my head I could feel the sunlight beating down on my face and the comfortable, cool breeze coming off the ocean. I took a deep breath and slowly started to open my eyes. I immediately began blinking and dropped my eyes to the ground giving my eyes time to adjust to the bright California sun. Once I could see the ground without seeing any spots, I raised my head slowly and was swept away by what I was seeing in front of me. I was looking at the familiar boulders that lined the beach at Coronado, the very same boulders that we used to stop and eat lunch at. I took a deep breath and stared at the boulders wishing I could see the sand and the ocean on the other side, but they were just too high. I couldn't believe that I was there with Edward's arms wrapped around me. A lump rose in my throat and my stomach clenched. I felt my eyes fill up and over-flow with tears.

Edward's arms wrapped around my waist and held my back firmly to his front. "You ok, Love?" he asked sweetly, completely unaware of the tears streaming down my face.

I couldn't say anything, so I just nodded.

"You know where we are, right?" he asked gently.

I nodded, again.

He squeezed me tighter to him and then asked, "Are you ready to see the house?"

I nodded… again.

He let go of me for a second and came to stand in front me. He gently wiped my tear-stained face and smiled sweetly, "I know it's a lot to take in." He hugged me for a moment, "I love you, Bella. Whenever you are ready just turn around, ok?"

I nodded into Edward's chest feeling completely overwhelmed by the moment. I am in the arms of the man who IS the love of my life. He had bought us a house in our favorite place in San Diego. And I had no idea how he could ever afford a beach-front home on his Navy salary. And he did it for me, before he knew I would be his again. There were so many thoughts racing around my head and it all circled upon how much Edward still loved me. Even after I broke his heart and left him alone, he still loved me.

"I love you, Edward," I cried into his chest.

"Bella," he pushed me back slightly and raised my chin with one of his hands so that he could look into my eyes, "I love you, too." His face went from concerned to sporting his sexy half-grin, "Please… turn around."

"Ok," I nodded.

I turned slowly not sure what I would find, there are so many different types of houses along the beach I just couldn't imagine what I would see. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of our house. My eyes immediately went to the buttery yellow double doors that were flanked by white a pair of white columns. To the right of the front door, there is a large patio area in front of a set of quad-sliding doors that looks perfect for relaxing and watching the sunset. The house itself was a two-story craftsman bungalow and was painted in a soft cream color, with white trim, and black shingles. The window frames are a just a shade lighter than the blue of the sky.

"This is ours?" I say in complete awe of the beautiful house before me.

"Yes, Love. It's ours." Edward kisses me cheek and takes my hand, "Come on. Let's go inside."

As he led me across the road I noticed the brick and stone steps that lead up to the front door. We took the steps slowly and I am stunned at the size of the patio in the front of the house. I turned to take in the spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean and had hard time believing any of this is really happening. "Edward?" I turned and touch his arm as he is fumbled with his keys.

He looked up, "Yeah?"

"How?"

"It's really a long story and I promise that I will explain it all later. But the short version is a really, REALLY, healthy inheritance." He smiled and put the key into the lock and opened the front door. I took a step towards him, but then he turned abruptly and without any notice lifted me up bridal-style. I squealed and he laughed, "There's no way I'm NOT carrying you over the threshold of our new house." I can't help but smile as he carried me through our doorway.

"Oh my…" I murmured as Edward set me down on what looked to be hard wood floors. We were in very large, very white room with coffered ceilings and a very large fireplace at one end.

Edward took my hand and pulled me further into the room, so that I was standing in the middle with a set of sliding doors in front of me, facing the beach, and another set behind me, facing a courtyard and another portion of the house. "This is the Living Room," he said quietly.

The rest is a blur as Edward took me by the hand and began showing me around the house. On the main floor we had a Living Room, a Dining Room, a Family Room, the Kitchen, a Butler's Pantry, and a Half Bathroom. As we made our way out of the bathroom I noticed a door by the stairs, "Edward? Where does this go?"

He smiled and said, "Don't laugh, it was already here when I bought the house." He opened the door only to show me what looked like a cage. Edward pressed a button to the right and a freaking elevator came down and stopped on front of me.

"Holy shit!" I laughed. "We have a fucking elevator?" I looked at him incredulously.

"Yeah, isn't a trip?" Edward laughed, too, seeming to enjoy my enthusiasm. "I really don't plan on using it a whole lot, but it will be good for moving the furniture in. You want to try it?" he teased.

I bite my bottom lip and quickly nodded my head yes. Edward laughed and opened the gate. He wiggled his eyebrows and pulled me inside the small elevator, which looked like four people could fit into pretty easily. He pressed the "G" button and I asked, "Where are we going?"

"Down to the garage," he said with smile and a wink.

"Down?" I questioned. How could we be going down?

He nodded, "Just wait it gets better." The elevator came to a stop and we stepped out. Edward led me to the right and showed me another room he called the Great Room and it wasjust as big as the Living Room upstairs. He started rambling on about a home theater as he showed me two empty bedrooms that each have their own bathrooms and walk-in-closets.

When we headed back towards the elevator I can't help but notice a set of double-doors in front of us. "What's through there?"

"It's the garage. Wanna see it?"

I of course said yes and Edward took me into the largest garage I had ever seen in my entire life. "How many cars can fit in here?" I asked in utter disbelief.

"Five, is what I'm told," he said matter-of-factly.

"Oh… kay..." I shook my head.

"What?" he asked as we headed back to the elevator.

"It's just so much house, that's all."

Edward grabbed me and spun me around and then out of the huge garage. "I know, Love. But we don't have to fill it all at one time. We have a lifetime ahead of us." He picked me up and kissed me firmly as he carried me into the elevator, effectively shifting my mood. He pushed me against the wall and the elevator began to move. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he kissed me harder. He wasn't teasing, he's demanding all of my attention and I eagerly gave it to him.

In the back of my mind I felt the elevator stop and Edward pulled us away from the wall all the while he continued to kiss me. The next thing I felt was us falling backward and I let out a startled scream as we landed on king-sized bed that had been made up in all white sumptuous linens.

"What is this?" I asked into his smiling lips, amazed by what I believed was a _very_ romantic gesture.

"_This_?" he teased, "This is _our _bed in _our_ bedroom."

I sat up to take a look around the room and I immediately fell in love with it. There was a very large window that faced the beach giving us an amazing view of the Pacific. Next to the window therewas a set of French doors that opened to what looks to be a very large balcony.

"Do you want to go out there?" Edward asked.

I turned my attention back to him and say, "Later." I can't help but smile at the beautiful sight before me. Edward was lying back on the bed with his hands behind his head smiling up at me. I took the hem of his shirt and began to pull it up, "Sit up, please." Edward complied and I lifted his well-worn t-shirt up and over his head. His hands immediately relieved me of my shirt and he began working on my jeans. He managed to get them unbuttoned and unzipped, but I was not ready to lose them quite yet.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself against his chest and hugged him to me. I buried my nose into the side of his neck and then kissed my way up to his ear. I took his ear lobe into my mouth and teased and sucked it, while breathing into his ear. His hands were wrapped around my back and as my breath tickled him I could feel his fingers begin to lightly scratch their way around my back, making me shiver. I placed small kisses along his square jaw until I got to his dimpled chin. I love that chin. I placed a single kiss there and then move to his lips. At first, I licked lightly at his bottom lip, and then I very lightly nipped causing Edward to take a deep breath. I took an extra second and teased the corners of his mouth with my tongue, just flicking lightly. Edward tried to kiss me, but I pulled away. I put my hands on his shoulders and pushed him back to the bed. I lightly rake my fingernails from his shoulders down to the waist of his jeans. He is smiled a lazy grin as goose bumps rose across his skin, following where my fingers had just been. I can't help but smile back.

I leaned forward and kissed the hollow of his throat and then made my way across his collar bone and then down to his nipple. I circled his nipple with my tongue and it hardened immediately against my lips. I sucked lightly and Edward gasped. I pulled back only to see Edward shudder slightly. I repeated the circuit to the other side of his body, being as gentle as I possibly could. After sitting up, again, I took my hands and ran them up his sides and then lightly raked my fingernails back down making him shoot to the side, trying to get away from what was obviously tickling him.

I leaned back on my heels and shifted so that I was sitting beside him, "Stand up," I said quietly. Edward instantly jumped up to stand at the foot of the bed. I smoothly slid to sit in front of him and placed a leg on either side of his. I looked up into his excited green eyes and placed my hand on the fly of his jeans. He pushed himself against my hand and I could feel just how hard he really was. I unbuttoned his jeans and began to unzip his pants. He moved his hands to take off his jeans and I blocked them, "Let me," I said in a raspy voice. He acquiesced and his hands stroke my hair and then the sides of my face. I hooked my thumbs into the band of his boxer-briefs and then began to slowly divest him of his briefs and his jeans. I pulled down slightly and then licked and kissed and sucked at the tight muscles of his stomach, eventually making my way to the delicious V that leads beneath his pants. I pulled them down further and expose the area where the base of his cock meets his immaculately clean shaven pelvis. I traced where his cock met his body with my tongue and Edward fisted my hair roughly.

I shook my head and looked up at him, "Be gentle or I stop." He let go of my hair and his hands immediately shot up and fisted his own. I smiled and went back to my teasing. I pulled his pants down a little further and teased his exposed length a little more, but this time I reached behind him and gently traced a line from his spine to the front of his exposed thighs. He shifted abruptly and his pants fell to his knees and his beautiful cock was freed and standing in all its glory right in front of my face. I looked up at him and smiled being sure to lick my lips lightly. Edward looked at me and growled out a, "fuck." I held his gaze and leaned forward and licked the under-side of his cock from base to tip. Edward groaned and then looked up at the ceiling while fisting the hell out of his hair.

I placed one hand at the base of his cock and firmly stroked up and then added my other hand above the first on the down-stroke. I paused for a moment and took his head into my mouth. I traced the ridge of the head with my tongue and then sucked and flicked with my tongue. I could feel him quivering and I couldn't help but want to tease him more.

"Fuck," Edward almost shouted. He looked down at me and then his hands flew to my arms, pulling my up to my feet. He glared into my eyes, "As much as I love you sucking my cock, I really, _really_ want to make love to you."

I leaned forward and Edward met me in a kiss. His hands were deftly relieving me of my pants and then my bra and then he pushed me back onto the bed. As I slid back onto the bed, Edward stepped out of his pants and made his way up to join me. We kissed for a moment and then Edward's hands began to wander. It was his turn to tease me, but he was in a hurry. He's not willing to take his time. He tweaked a nipple with one hand while he nipped at the other. He switched and his mouth found the other nipple and his hand made it's away across the sensitive skin of my stomach and then to my side, making my flinch, and then down my thigh and this inside and up my thigh, being careful to avoid my swollen and sensitive lips. I tried to shift my hips trying to gain friction and he removed his hand completely.

Edward shifted quickly and was between my legs. "Bella, I can't wait any longer," he moaned. I agreed and scooted closer to him. He took his cock and rubbed it in between my lips, being sure to hit my clit. I squirmed and then I felt him ease his way into me. He filled me slowly trying to adjust and I began to move more, needing more friction. Edward countered and we find an easy rhythm. Edward pulled my ankles to his shoulders and the angle is exquisite. He pushed harder and I could feel the pressure building deep inside. He shifted slightly and then took my ankle and held it out to the side giving him deeper access. "Hold your other one," he growled and I complied. I was holding one leg out, while he had the other in one hand and then he began to work my clit with his empty hand. He rubbed and twirled and thrust. The feeling built until I could feel myself begin to clench around him. He must have felt it too, and took it as a signal to push me over the edge. He pinched my clit between his fingers and thrust deeply and repeatedly inside f me making me cum and cry out in sheer pleasure. He followed right behind me and collapsed on top of me. For a few moments we both lay there panting, trying to recover. Eventually, he rolled us so that we are both lying on our sides facing one another.

His arms are wrapped around me and I am fighting sleep when he asks me, "You ok?"

I nodded and nuzzled against his chest, "uh huh… never been better."

"I love you," he whispered and kissed the top of my head.

"I love you," I whispered into his chest.

My eyes were heavy and I just needed a nap. So, we slept.

It had been a long overwhelming day. I had left my friends and family and moved all the way across the country to be with Edward. And then he surprised me with the most amazing house. He bought it for me, for us, because he had more faith in us, than I had. I decided that day, that I would spend the rest of my life trying to make him happy and never regret coming to get me.

* * *

a/n: Thanks for reading... please show me some love and review!

I hope to update again next Sunday... that is if I can keep r/l at bay!


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own twilight... but I do love it so... :-)**

**Thanks for reading... R/L is being a pest... but I guess that's why it is reality...**

"Wow, Bells, I can't believe how much you've been able to get done in a couple of months," Alice says and wraps her arm around my waist as we head to the Family Room.

"I've had some help," I wink at her and hug her closer to my side, overjoyed to have my best friend here with me. "I just can't believe you're here, Al! How long are you guys staying?" I pull her over to the over-stuffed, slip-covered, couch and we plop down beside each other.

"Well, Bells," Alice took a deep breath, hesitating for only a moment, "We aren't sure." She looks at me out of the corner of her eye and she has a strange expression on her face.

I took her hand, "What's wrong, Al?" I ask.

"Oh, nothing's wrong, silly," she laughs and squeezes my hand back. "It's just after talking to Edward this last time, Jazz and I just realized that this is where you guys were going to live, _long-term_. And when we figured out that you guys weren't coming back to Jacksonville, we started thinking about what our long-term plans were."

"Okay… what does that mean, _exactly_?" I was a little lost as to where this conversation was heading.

"What it means is that we are here for at least two weeks," she smiles.

"REALLY?" I must have yelled because she literally winces and then I grab her and pull her into a hug.

"Yeah," she is giggling at my exuberance and hugging me back. When I finally let her go she continues, "Jazz and I both agree that we want to live closer to you guys. So, we are going to see if there are any opportunities here for us and then go from there."

"What about the house and Jacksonville and all of your stuff? What about our parents?" I ask.

"The house is rented. The stuff is just stuff. We kept the important things and got rid of the crap." She's still smiling when the guys enter the room and head into the kitchen.

"You two want a drink?" Edward asks as he gives me a sweet smile. Jasper is standing beside him smiling, while his hands are buried inside his jeans pockets. My brother looks happy, at ease, and I can't help but smile at the two of them.

"I'll take some water," I answer and look over at Alice. She's beaming at Jasper and I can't help but feel so happy to have them here in our home.

"That works for me, too," she replies. "Well, I think Renee and Charlie took it the hardest and I wouldn't be surprised if they end up moving out here. And well, you know how my parents are..." she gave me a pointed look, to which I nodded, "they immediately started looking for real estate." We both started laughing.

Carlisle is a very successful plastic surgeon in Miami and I knew he would have no problem starting another practice in Los Angeles or San Diego, if he wanted to. His reputation preceded him where ever he went. And Esme had already come and spent 3 weeks helping me with the interior design of the house. Esme is a successful and in demand interior designer. It started years ago when she helped her cousin, Carmen, decorate a few rooms in her Manhattan apartment. A friend of Carmen's loved what Esme had done and asked for her help with her house. It all just grew exponentially from there. And now Esme works when she wants to. She is constantly turning down jobs because they don't "inspire" her. And I completely admire that she does what she truly loves and refuses to do less.

So, when she and I were talking on the phone the week after Edward and I moved into our new house, I asked for her advice on a few things. She was very helpful and asked me to send her some pictures of the house and what I wanted to buy so that she could get a better sense of what I was talking about. I told her I would, but then I sighed, "It would just be easier if you were here." She then offered to come and help. She told me that she had 3 weeks in between projects and that she would love to come out. I, of course, did not refuse her and she arrived at the house the next day. She rented her own car and stayed down the road at the Hotel del Coronado. When I told her she could have stayed with us because we have more than enough room. She just smiled, gave me a wink, and said, "Bella, you know, I really appreciate your offer. But, you and Edward need this time together. And frankly, I'm going to need time away from the house so I can stay inspired." She reassured me that on her next visit she would stay with us, but she just needed her own space while she was working.

Edward and Jasper made their way into the Family Room and took their respective seats. Jasper handed Alice her glass and took his seat next to Alice, wedging himself between her side and the back of the couch. Edward leaned in and kissed my cheek, handed me my glass and then plopped backwards into his favorite leather arm-chair beside the couch. He immediately put his bare, tanned feet up on the ottoman and then sat back into the chair smiling at me with a smug grin on his face. He looked like the cat that ate the canary.

I gave in and asked, "What?"

His smile grew wider, "I think you have forgotten something…"

I thought for a minute… "Oh crap!" I shot up off the couch, "The Barbeque! We have to finish getting ready!"

Edward, Alice and Jasper are all laughing at my panicked reaction. And as I try to move past Edward to head into the kitchen, Edward grabs me around my waist and pulls me into his lap. "Bella, calm down, I told everyone to come over around 5:00."

"Oh, ok," I sigh and relax into him. "Why did you do that?"

"I knew Alice and Jasper were coming in and I figured you would want a little time with them before the party." Edward nuzzles the side of my neck and the stubble on Edward's unshaven face tickles my neck making chills run down my body.

I squirm against his chest and turn to face him. "You, Mister… what am I going to do with you!" I lean in and bite at his ear lobe and whisper, "there are going to be some serious repercussions for your behavior."

Edward groans just a little too loud and Jasper has to but in, "All right you two… don't make me get the hose!"

I laugh and let go of Edward and turn to face my brother. "Yeah, yeah, I hear ya," I mutter, pretending to be annoyed.

"So," Alice chimes in as Jasper throws his legs up over her lap, "why are we having a barbeque tonight?"

"It's our turn," I start, but Edward cuts me off.

"Well, that's not really the only reason. All of the Officers in my Group get together about once a month to, I guess you could say let off some steam. Last month we went and played paintball. It really isn't our turn, but since we have the house and all, I thought I would offer up our place."

"Show off," Jasper teases.

"Damn right!" Edward laughs, "I thought it would be good to do something a low key since we will be gone for two months come next Wednesday… Hence the barbeque."

"Is it just the guys then?" Alice asked.

"Normally, but this time spouses are invited," Edward gave me a squeeze.

Alice begins to looking around the room and her leg begins to bounce. I can tell she isn't going to take sitting still very much longer. "How long do we have until we have to be ready?" she asks.

Edward looks at his watch, "we have 3 hours. Are you guys hungry? We could have a snack and then go walk the beach for a little bit."

Jasper and Alice both nod and Alice springs up throwing Jaspers feet off of her lap. "Sorry, Jazzy," she says as she kisses his lips and skips towards the kitchen.

"Same old Alice," I tease as I stand up to follow her into the kitchen.

"You should have seen her on the plane," Jasper laughs as the guys decide to follow us into the kitchen.

"I can only imagine," laughs Edward.

We quickly make simple Turkey and Swiss cheese sandwiches and eat them along with a little Pasta salad that I had made for the barbeque. As we finish up our lunch Jasper yawns and stretches his arms up over his head.

"Tired, Jazz?" I ask.

"Yeah, it's been a long day," Jasper offers with a half-hearted smile. He looks tired. Bags are beginning to form under his eyes and his eyelids are starting to droop.

"Why don't you go upstairs on upstairs and take a nap? The beach isn't going anywhere." I know my brother will feel much better if he can just catch a little cat nap.

I look over at Alice and she reaches over and squeezes his arm, "Go on. I will catch up with Bella and Edward."

"Thanks, beautiful." Jasper smiles and leans over and gives Alice a kiss on the temple. "I won't be gone too long." He stands and turns to head upstairs.

As soon as Jasper is out of the room, Alice turns and looks at the two of us. A smirk appears on her face and she tilts her head slightly towards Edward. "Well, big brother, isn't there something you need to be doing?" she asks in her most obnoxious little sister voice and I can't help but laugh.

"Well, hell, Alice… why don't you just say what you _really_ mean…" Edward laughs at his sister.

"Ok…" She looks at me and then back to Edward, "Get lost so I can talk to my best friend!" She sticks her tongue and blows a raspberry and Edward.

"There's my sister!" Edward stands up and in a matter of seconds, he runs over to Alice's chair, pulls her out of her seat and throws her over his shoulder.

Alice is squirming and screaming, "What are you doing? Edward! Where are you taking me? Edward… PUT . ME . DOWN!" as Edward is walking through the courtyard that lies between the kitchen and the living room and out the sliding glass doors that lead to our front patio. I grab mine and Alice's drinks and follow, watching Alice slap Edward's ass and then squeal as he deposits her on a cushioned, wicker chaise that sits on the front patio that faces the Ocean.

"Sheesh, EDDIE!" she huffs. Alice acts upset, but we all know she's not.

I sit down on the wicker settee and Edward, being the typical older brother that he is ruffles her hair and teases, "Oh, come on, Alley-oop… lighten up!" He's trying to dazzle her with his half-grin, but Alice seldom falls for that.

I pull my knees up to my chest and smile. It has been so long since I have seen these two be brother and sister and it absolutely melts my heart. "Edward?" I ask, wanting to divert his attention before someone ends up swimming in the Pacific… and by someone I mean Alice.

Edward turns to me and smiles, "yeah?"

"Do you think you could run up to Von's for me? There's a list on the fridge."

He steps over in front of me and leans in and kisses my sweetly on the lips, "Of course." As he pulls away we maintain eye contact. "All right girlies, here is your moment… Enjoy it…" He steps past the chairs and head back inside and I can't help but turn and watch him walk away. Damn, his ass looks good in jeans!

"Ahem," I blush as I hear Alice clear her throat, trying to get my attention.

When I turn and face her she is smiling and fighting not to laugh out loud at my ogling her brother.

"What?" I half-wine at her.

"Oh… nothing at all," she shakes her head, "I'm just glad to see the two of you so happy."

"Thanks, Al. I just can't believe you're really here."

"I know, right." She just smiles, "so, you have to tell me how _everything_ is going. Have you guys talked about getting married, yet?"

I shake my head, "Come on, we just got back together," I pause and look out at the water, "I know we want to be together forever, but I think Edward just needs a little time to realize I'm not going anywhere. And I am just grateful to be here, with him."

"You mean, you haven't really discussed the 'big' stuff, yet?" Alice asked, seeming to be annoyed that we weren't engaged and talking about baby names. "You know he loves you, right?" she asks.

I nod.

"Bella, he wouldn't have come and got you if he didn't love you. And he certainly wouldn't have bought you _this_ house if he didn't want a future with you."

"I know that, Al," I quietly reply, "I think Edward and I have pretty much picked up where we left off. Except, I'm not leaving and we're not engaged."

"Well, that's good." She stops for a second and I can tell she's really trying broach her next idea carefully. She clears her throat and then looks at me and I can see her forehead wrinkle and her eyes are filled with worry. "How have things been when Edward goes out for training?" she asks gently.

"I'm really doing better with it this time. He's only left once and that was for two and a half weeks. He was able to e-mail me almost every night and that helped. But, what really helped was talking with Garrett and his wife, Kate. Garrett is the Commander of his own Platoon. Edward invited them over one night after work to help figure out what he could tell me and what he couldn't. And he really likes Kate and thought that she and I could be friends, at the least giving me someone else out here that I know."

Alice gets up and comes and sits with me on the settee, "Did it really help?"

"Yeah," I nod, "Garrett really helped Edward to realize what my fears were. And how they really made sense considering the lack of information Edward was giving me. And Kate expressed that she had the same fears and invited me to join the support group for SEAL wives. I went a few times. The first time I went without Kate it was intimidating. Some of the ladies are _really_ nasty and love to just put everyone in their place, or rather their husbands rank. I really didn't want to go back, but Kate convinced me to go back with her. She introduced me to a few ladies that I really grew to like. Most of them will be here tonight. But there are a few that I wish I could get away with not inviting, but it just doesn't work that way."

"Well, warn a girl when the evil ones get here, ok?" Alice laughed and I nodded as I took a drink of water.

I laugh out loud, "I will. There are only a couple coming tonight that you need to watch out for: Tanya and Lauren. They pretty much stick to themselves, but that's really because no one else can stand their catty asses. Kate and Angela are the nicest. Jessica is in her own world. She's sweet and all, just not the smartest. And then there's Jane. I like Jane, but she's very quiet and has a very, _very_ dry sense of humor. She really doesn't say a whole lot and when she does _everyone_ listens."

"Ok, so what should I expect tonight?" Alice asked sounding a little nervous.

"I think there will be quite a turnout, because everyone wants to see the house and meet "Cullen's _new girl_". Some of the guys get a little rowdy, but they are all pretty good guys… Oh! You will get to meet Emmett tonight. Has Edward told you about Emmett?" I ask enthusiastically. When I look at Alice I can tell by her expression that she knows something. "What?"

She smiles sheepishly, "ummm… Edward brought Emmett home with him last summer."

"Oh, I didn't know," I murmured.

Alice grabs my hand and squeezes, "It was when you and Renee had gone down to Miami. It was a coincidence that you weren't around and I really don't know why I didn't tell you before now." Her voice is nervous and I feel that I should reassure her.

"Al, it's ok. It doesn't matter, now," I sigh as I look down at her perfectly manicured fingers that are still entwined in mine. "I just didn't realize you had already met Emmett. You know I wouldn't have wanted to talk about Edward back then, anyway."

"I guess that's why I didn't bring it up," she shakes my hand t get my attention, "You ok?" she smiles and asks tentatively.

"Yeah, it's just… well… I know I need to handle things like this better, that's all." I feign my own smile.

"Things like what?" she asks, her eyes gently pleading for me to explain.

"Things like what happened while Edward and I were apart. I feel like I missed so much in those two years and sometimes I wish I could just take it all back."

"Bella, let me ask you something," she took a sip of her water and set the glass on the wrought iron table in front of us. "Did you learn anything about yourself in those two years?"

I nod my head, "of course."

"What? What did you learn?" she urges.

"That all I can survive without Edward, that I can build a life on my own if I have to and that I can take care of myself. I also figured out that yes, I can do all of those things and be without Edward, but that I really didn't want to. I had Jake, but he didn't _really_ have me. My heart was with Edward and when he came to get me I knew immediately that he was where I had to be, if he still wanted me."

"You know what, Bells?" Her voice lifting with promise, "Don't worry about it. You've only been back together for a couple of months, it will get easier. I think it will just take some time."

"I know, Al. But, there are times when I just feel really guilty."

"Guilty? What do you have to feel guilty about?"

I can't believe that she doesn't understand. My eyes begin to well up with tears and I whisper, "I feel guilty for leaving Edward, for breaking his heart." I feel a tear slide down my cheek and quickly reach up and wipe it away with my free hand.

"Oh, honey," Alice croons as she pulls me into a hug, "have you talked to him about it?"

"No."

"You need to. You need to know that he has forgiven you."

I nod and rest my head on her shoulder. I feel her body shake slightly and I wonder why she is crying. But, before I can pull away, I hear another familiar, friendly voice.

"OH . MY . GOD! Don't tell me that you two have finally admitted your feelings for one another…" the voice trailed off as I looked up to see none other than my other best-girl, Rosalie Hale, standing on my front patio looking stunning in red knit top, blue jeans and coordinating red patent leather stilettos.

"What the fuck?" I ask completely stunned. I jump up and run over to give her a hug. "What are you doing here?" I ask excitedly.

She hugs me back, hard. "Well, I couldn't let Jasper and Alice have all the fun," she teases. I turn and see Alice smiling from ear to ear.

"Dammit, you knew!" I shout as I point at her. "Did Edward know, too?" Alice nodded her head. "Alright, assholes, no more surprising Bella. At least not until next year!" I half-joke with them.

Alice walks over and gives Rose a quick high-five and a hug. We make small talk about Rose's flight while we head through the house showing Rose some of my favorite things as we go.

We find Edward in the kitchen talking to Jasper as he puts the groceries away. "Look what I found," I laugh as we enter the room.

"It's about time you got here," Edward smiles and walks over and gives her a hug. "Good to see you Rose." He nods and walks back over to finish with groceries. He looks at the clock and glances at me, "Love, it's 4:00."

"Oh, I guess I will run upstairs and get ready." I look over at my girls and smile, "you guys want to come help me figure out what to wear?"

Alice's eyes light up as bright as a neon sign, "I thought you'd never ask," she giggles excitedly.

Rose, grinning mischievously, turns to Edward, "Hey _Eddie_," he turns to face her with a not-so-amused expression on his face, as she tosses him her car keys, "my rental is out front. Would you mind getting my bag for me?"

Edward shakes his head, "Sure. I will get it for you, _Rosie_." He smiles back at her. They both do not care for being called by nick-names. Edward, well, he just prefers t be called Edward. Rosalie is fine with her friends calling her Rose, but very few people can get away with calling her Rosie. Come to think of it no one calls her Rosie.

Rose cocks her head to the side and smiles, "It's good to see you, too, Edward."

Edward just laughs, "You, too, Rosalie. You, too."

Rose follows Alice and me to the stairs. "Where does that go?" Rose asks as she points to the door by the stairs.

"It's the elevator," I sigh.

"An elevator?" she questions and laughs. "Then why the hell are we taking the stairs?" she asks with her hands on her hips.

"Well, we normally don't use it unless we are taking heavy things up the stairs."

"Oh, well shit, Bells… show your guest the damn elevator," she teases and opens the door.

We of course take the elevator and once we reach the second floor we walk through the French doors on the right and head into my bedroom.

"So, what were you planning on wearing?" Alice excitedly asks as we walk into my closet.

"I was really thinking, jean skirt, tank-top and flip-flops."

Rose laughs, and Alice teases me, "come on… surely we can do better than that."

I smile not because I want to play Barbie, but because I have missed my girls. And it's comforting to have them with me. It's comforting that our dynamic has not changed.

"Have at it Alice," I say as I extend my arm in a sweeping motion to my side of my closet. "Just try and remember that it's a Barbeque for Navy SEALs who happen to be Edward's colleagues."

"Of course," she smiles and begins sifting through my clothes looking for something for me to wear.

Rose nudges me, "wanna show me where your bathroom is?"

"Sure." I turn to leave my large walk-in closet and head across the sitting area into the Master bathroom.

"I love the blues you have chosen up here," Rose adds as we walk into the bathroom.

"Thanks. Esme was a huge help. There were so many decisions to make and she really helped guide me to what I really wanted."

I really wanted to bring some of the beach into the house and Esme suggested that along with certain accessories, paint was an easy way to do just that. Most of the walls in the house were kept various shades of beige: bringing in the colors of the sand. And in the smaller rooms, such as the bathrooms, the sitting area, and some accent walls are painted a more vivid sea blue: bringing in the hues of the Pacific Ocean. Our bedroom is a combination of the two ideas. The wall facing the ocean is painted blue as an accent, while the rest of the room is painted beige. Our bedding is a cool white. The white-washed king-sized bed is covered in a plush, percale duvet. There's an over-stuffed, white, matelasse-covered chair by the sliding glass doors that leads out to our balcony. We have three mismatched side-tables in the room: two one either side of the bed and the third by my chair. There was also a decorative console table against the blue wall that we decorated with pictures of me and Edward.

"It's beautiful, Bells. You and Esme did a great job." Rose turned and took both of my hands, "let me do your hair." She smiles and I groan. "Oh, come on Bella… You're letting Alice dress you!"

"Ok, have at it," I sigh as I surrender myself over to her.

It didn't take the pair to have me looking like a million bucks. Alice picked a light blue, paisley patterned, linen sundress that tied at the shoulders and hit just above my knees. She even was nice enough to pair it with my favorite leather flip-flops. The outfit was very cute and very appropriate. "Thanks, Al. I love it," I smile as I look myself over in the mirror. "I love my hair, too, Rose." She had pulled it back into two separate pony tails. The first sat lower in my hair, while the second sat above it, but covered it, by a few inches: giving my already long hair the illusion of extra length. She then twisted different sections around her fingers creating loose curls in my pony-tails.

"How about some make-up?" Rose asked.

"Just some mascara and lip-gloss, ok?" I plead. Rose nods and quickly applies my mascara and I put on my lip-gloss.

I turn around and look at my girls, "thanks guys," I sigh. We all three come together into a hug, "I'm so happy that you guys are here," I gush, trying not to cry.

We laugh for a minute and then I hear the door bell ring. "Let the games begin," I comment as I turn to head downstairs with my girls in tow.

**a/n: The BBQ was supposed to be a part of this chapter, but I just couldn't get it out in time. So... next Sunday we meet the lovely Navy wives and their men... Thanks for reading and please, pretty please show me some love. It is so much easier to write when people give me some sort of feedback...**

**Thanks again and I will see you next week! :-)**


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Twilight... but I am thankful that we are allowed to play with the characters a bit...

Thanks for reading...

.

.

.

Before the girls and I make our way downstairs, I can hear Emmett's booming voice. I smile to myself knowing that Rose and Emmett are perfect for one another. "Hey Rose?" I ask, as I turn to look at her, wanting to give her a little info on Emmett.

"Yeah?" she answers, hesitantly.

"There's someone here that I think you should meet," I say with a wink and a grin.

"Oh, really?" Rose giggles, "Give me the details, Bells."

I stop and the foot of the stairs and turn around. Rose and Alice are a couple steps up from me. "Ok… his name is Emmett McCarty. He works with Edward and… well… he's basically Edward's second in command…"

"So, he's a SEAL?" Rose interjects.

"Yes. But, you should also know that _we_ are the only family Emmett has. Emmett can be loud and obnoxious at times. But he is a great guy and a wonderful friend." I pause for a second then look at Rose squarely in the eyes, "So, you need to be gentle."

Rose's eyes light up and she smiles, "Why Bella, I have n idea what you _might_ be alluding to…" her voice trails off as she slips around me and struts towards the sound of the guys laughing.

Alice comes to stand beside me and nudges me with her hip, "Emmett's a grown-up, ya know," she sighs.

"Yeah, I know." I bump her hip with mine, "but if she hurts him, I will kick her ass myself." Alice and I both start to laugh as we walk towards the kitchen looking for the rest of the crew.

I turn into the kitchen and see Rose standing quietly off to the side watching Edward and Emmett excitedly talk to Jasper. From what I can gather they are telling Jasper about their paint-ball excursion last month.

Emmett is laughing out loud and he back-hands Edward in the chest, "… and then _this_ guy comes out of nowhere and shoots James in the balls…" they all laugh loudly, "I mean square in the junk. It was freaking hilarious!" Emmett roars with laughter and Edward turns red trying to hold back his own laughter. Jasper is bent over laughing at the story, trying not to fall out of his chair.

I walk over and put my hand on Edward's waist and he turns to look at me. He smiles and I ask quietly, not really wanting to interrupt the guys when they are having such a great time, "When should we fire up the grill?"

He turns the rest of the way and envelopes me in his arms, holding me to his chest. "You look absolutely beautiful," he sighs into my ear. His warm breath on my bare neck sends chills down my spine and I squirm into his chest. He runs the tip of his nose down the shell of my ear and then slowly up my jaw-line and GOD I love it when he does that!

"HEY!" Emmett yells causing me to jump out of my skin and making my chin crash into Edward's nose. Edward winces and pulls back. "You two need to take that shit upstairs," Emmett teases.

"Fuck, Em," Edward growls, "you didn't need to scare the shit out of her."

"I'm sorry, Bells," Emmett says as he yanks me away from Edwards and lifts me off the ground, "you gotta get a thicker skin, little sis," he laughs.

"Dammit, Emmett, LET . ME . DOWN!" I yell at him.

"Ok, ok," he laughs. "So, who's the blonde?" He asks quietly as he sets me back down.

I smile up at him, "You know who that is… I told you _all_ about her."

I turn to Rose, "Emmett, this is Rosalie Hale." Rose smiles at Emmett and walks over to offer him her hand, "Rose, this is Emmett McCarty." The two smile at one another and only offer each other a simple, "Hi," and then return to their respective spots. I have to wonder what in the hell that was all about. Rose and Emmett were two of the least shy people I had ever met in my entire life and here they are completely silent.

Edward brings me out of my ponderings when he clears his throat, "Bella?"

I look up at him and smile.

"How about I start the grill when the first guests arrive?" he asks.

"Sounds good." I look around to see what needs to be done. I want to open up the all the doors and windows on the first floor, that way we will have a nice ocean breeze flowing through the house. The tiki-torches need to be lit in the courtyard. We need to get the music going. The elevator needs to be set for to only go between the first and third floors.

"What Bella?" Alice chimes in as if she could see the wheels turning in my mind.

"There are just a few things that need to be finished, that's all," I mutter.

"Let's hear it, so, we can get this show on the road," Rose demands with a smile.

I rattle of the list and every one sets off to complete a task. In a matter of minutes the girls and I are back in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on some of the food and laughing at Rose and Emmett. "What?" Rose whines.

"You," I say as Alice and I laugh, "I have never seen _you_ so quiet. What in the hell is wrong with you?"

"It's just… well… he's just…" Rosalie sputters.

"Hell, Rose, spit it out," Alice scoffs, joining in on the teasing.

"I think I'm nervous," she groans and plops down in a kitchen chair and props her chin up on her hands.

"What?!" I am amazed and she looks up at me, stunned by my reaction, "In all the years I have known you, _YOU_ have never been nervous around a guy!"

"Well," Rose pauses, "I know he's important to you guys and he just seems so… nice."

I laugh again, "Rose, he _IS_ nice. But, you're not gonna break him. I promise you guys have a lot in common." I walk over and pull her to her feet, "just go and talk to him."

"Ok, I will," she smiles, "I just need a few minutes. Give me something to do."

Alice and I look at each other and can't help but laugh some more at Rosalie's expense. Rose has always been so self-assured and confident. And seeing her like this was an absolute trip.

But before I furnish Rose with a distraction, I hear Kate's voice coming from the front of the house, "Hello?"

"We are back in the kitchen," I holler across the house.

Kate makes her way into the kitchen looking as beautiful as ever in jean shorts and tank-top. Her blonde hair is thrown up into a pony-tail and she is carrying a basket. "Hey, Bella," she smiles and comes over, sets the basket on the table and gives me a hug.

I hug her back, "Hey Kate, I have a couple of people I would like you to meet…" I quickly introduce her to Alice and Rose and we all fall into an easy conversation about who is coming out tonight.

"Is my sister coming tonight?" Kate starts.

"Yeah," I sigh, "she and Eric 'wouldn't miss it for the world'," I say, directly quoting one my least favorite Navy wives.

Kate laughs, "Yeah, well, if Tanya and Lauren behave, it will be fine," I state matter-of-factly.

"I know, I know," Kate replies quietly.

"All right, what am I missing?" Alice asks, dying to get in on the conversation.

"Well, Tanya she likes to think that every man wants _her_ and that they all are just biding their time until they get their chance to be with her," Kate blatantly put it out there and I am thankful that I didn't have to.

"Oh, really?" Rose questions with a raised eyebrow. "So, _why_ is she coming here?"

Kate and I smile at one another and I answer Rose's question. "She married another CO named Eric a few months ago. And since this a 'team' get-together, they are invited."

Alice shakes her head, "So, she's married and _still_ acts that way?"

"Yes," Kate answered contritely, "she does."

"And her husband is ok with that?" Rose sneers.

"You will understand more when they get here," Kate smiles lightly, "But, Eric just sees it as flirtation and he doesn't worry about it… at least around our guys."

Alice looks frustrated and shakes her head, "So, if she comes on to _my_ husband what would be the appropriate thing for me to do?" Alice doesn't like confrontation, but when it comes to Jasper she's willing to do whatever she has to.

"Al," I begin, wanting to reassure her, "Jasper will put Tanya in her place. You don't have to worry about that." I smile at me oldest friend and she smiles back.

"I know, Bells, but…"

Before Alice can finish we are interrupted by Angela, Ben's wife. Ben is the second in Command of Garrett's platoon. Angela is a skinny girl with long, brown hair and brown eyes. She looks like the typical girl next door in her low-cut blue jeans, weathered light green t-shirt and flip-flops. "Hi, Ladies," she smiles, looking a little nervous.

"Hey Ang," I step over and give her a hug, quickly introducing her to Alice and Rosalie.

"So, what were you guys talking about?" Angela asks.

I smile at her, "Wanna guess?"

"Oh," she laughs, "Were you warning the girls about Tanya?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I don't think it's her you need to worry about." She looks at me pointedly.

"Oh, really?" I ask, "Do, tell…" I trail away wondering what Angela has heard now.

"Yeah, I ran into Lauren at the Commissary this morning and she was in rare form," Angela shook her head and looked up at me, "she's just jealous of you, Bella."

"Great," I mutter. Lauren had made it abundantly clear that she didn't like me. She also let it be known that Tanya would have married Edward if it wasn't for me. Edward said it wasn't true, but the accusation still made me very uncomfortable.

"Well," Rose steps up, "enough of this shit. Let's have some fun tonight, who cares about the petty people."

We all laugh at Rose and I give her a hug, "thanks, Rose," I whisper to her.

"You got it, Bells." She pulls back and looks at me squarely, "Don't you dare let these petty bitches get you down." She winks, "Let's go see what the men are up to."

We all agreed and followed Rose towards the Living Room and found the guys standing out on the front patio talking and laughing. I made my way to stand between Edward and Garrett. Kate stood next to me and wrapped her arm around Garrett's slim waist.

"Bella, the house looks beautiful," Kate offered with a smile.

"Thanks, Kate." I smile back, "Edward's mom, Esme, came out and helped me figure it all out."

I look around at the friends and smile. Alice and Angela are talking and smiling with one another. Rosalie is finally talking to Emmett. He is standing in front of her, looking down at her with smile on his face and his dimples blazing. His arms are crossed in front of him and one of her hands is resting on his arms and I can tell that she is looking up at him.

I look at Kate and nod towards the pair, "I really hope they hit it off."

"I agree," Kate smiles, "Emmett needs a good girl."

I laugh, "I don't know if 'good' is the right word. He needs a girl that will keep his ass in check."

Emmett looks over at me, "I heard that," he smiles.

"And whatchu gonna do about it?" I tease back with a smile.

Our banter is interrupted by a nasally, "Ooh, what have we missed?" Our heads all turn to see Tanya and Lauren walking up the front steps, smiling at one another, with Eric and Tyler close on their heels.

.

a/n: Sorry this is a short chapter... it wasn't my intention, but with r/l and Mother's Day this was all I could get out... I am going to try and update sooner this week...

Thanks for reading, please review and let me know how I'm doing...


	6. Chapter 6

**Twilight does not belong to me... but I do love it... :-)**

**a/n: I really tried to get this out earlier... but I kept changing my mind about the direction we were heading... let me know if you like it... and be warned... there's a lemon...**

.

.

.

I take a deep breath and thread my fingers between Edward's as we walk across the patio to greet our guests. Edward gives my hand a light squeeze, gently reassuring me.

I smile politely, "Hey, Ladies."

Both Tanya and Lauren are pretty girls. Tanya looks like a supermodel, with long, straight, strawberry blonde hair, light blue eyes and long, slender legs that go on for days. She's wearing a fitted, purple and black silk dress that is obscenely low-cut, revealing a good portion of her wedding "present" from Eric: a pair of extremely large and round breasts.

Lauren, on the other hand, is not much taller than me and is fairly petite. She has fine, straight, blonde hair that is cut into an angular bob that frames her face, accentuating the severe angle of her jaw-line. She has hazel, almond-shaped eyes that seem to change from green to almost brown depending on what she is wearing. Tonight, Lauren is wearing an aqua, patterned tank-top and a pair of khaki, way-to-short-shorts. I am positive that from behind you can see her butt hanging out the back of the shorts.

Tanya looks down at me and kind of half-smiles and then looks to Edward, "Hi, Edward," she takes a step forward, as if to hug him, and he pulls me snug to his side and throws his arm over my shoulder, effectively blocking her misplaced advance.

"Tanya," Edward nods at her and then at Lauren, "Lauren, I'm glad you both could make it."

"Hi, Edward… Bella," Lauren smiles a smile that looks like it is physically causing her pain.

Eric and Tyler ease in next to their wives. Eric reaches out to shake Edward's hand, "Great house, Cullen," he comments and then nods towards me, "Hiya Bella."

I nod back, "Hey," I say quietly. Eric is just a little taller than Edward and not quite as muscular. He's an average looking guy with black hair and brown eyes, who looks like he's always sweating. He has always been nice and polite, and Edward says he's incredibly good at his job. I just never understood how someone so nice could marry someone so mean and nasty.

Tyler followed Eric's lead and leaned in to shake Edward's hand, "Thanks for having us," he smiles. He looks over at me and held out a plastic grocery bag, "There's dessert in there."

I take the bag from him and smile, "Thanks."

"Guys," Edward begins, "we have some family here that we would like to introduce you to…" He proceeds with the introductions and I turn to see my girls eyeing Tanya and Lauren ruthlessly and I can't help but smile. Once he's finished he leans down and kisses my temple, "I'm gonna go get the grille fired up."

I nod and he steps away, into the house. I watch Emmett wink at Rose and then he follows Edward inside. Garrett steps over to talk to Tyler and Eric while Jasper remains planted next to Alice, Angela and Ben. I turn to my guests, "While Edward's starting the grille, I'm going to step inside and get the rest of the food set up."

"Oh… I was really hoping to get a _guided_ tour of the house," Lauren snickers. She and Tanya begin laughing at what seems to be an inside joke and I am sure it as at my expense.

Time to put my big-girl panties on and deal…

"Alrighty… Let me put this," I raise the bag, "in the kitchen and I will show you around."

Lauren is slightly taken aback, but Tanya has a smug smirk plastered on her face. "Are you sure that's ok with _Edward_?" Tanya asked nasty tone of voice.

"I'm pretty sure he could care less," I laugh out loud as I turn my back on the annoying pair.

Rose, hearing Tanya, follows me into the house. Rose touches my arm, gaining my attention, "You ok?" she asks.

I turn and nod, seeing Tanya and Lauren begin to make their way inside. "Just need to hurry this along, so we can eat," I wink at Rose and she smiles.

She knows I'm just being polite and trying t be a good hostess, "want some company?"

"Absolutely," I smile hoping that with the numbers being even, Lauren and Tanya will be more inclined to behave. I also know that if they do step out of line Rose won't hesitate to put them back in their place.

All things considered, the "tour" of the house is relatively uneventful. There are a few comments from Lauren about décor which are easy to overlook. I even manage to ignore the comments about "_Edward's house_" and how much Tanya loves "_Edward's taste in, well… everything"_.

But, by the time we finally make it upstairs, I am ready to be done dealing with Tanya. I open the door to the walk-in closet and briefly show them the inside and before I can shut the door Tanya pushes past me and walks inside.

"This is more like a dressing room than a closet," she moans. She walks to Edwards' side of the closet and begins dragging her hand against his clothes as she walks by, effectively creeping me out.

"Tanya?" she turns to me with raised eyebrows, silently asking what I want. "It's just a closet," I say when I really just want to stop what we are doing and go back downstairs.

"Yeah, I suppose," she snarks and struts back to the door, smiling. I am sure she thinks she's getting to me, and right now, she would be right. She almost skips out the door and heads straight towards the French doors that lead to our bedroom. She raises her hand to the knob and begins to open the door and turns to Lauren, wearing a ridiculous grin, and moans, "I can't wait to see _his_ bed."

I, literally, did a double-take, snapping my head from Rose to glare at Tanya, and then back to Rose and again to Tanya. "What did you just say?" I snap, hostility beginning to pour out of me.

"Oh, come on, _Bel-LA_," she rolls her eyes at me and I really, really want to punch her in the nose. "I'm just joking around," she scoffs. She turns the knob and tries to push the door open only to find it locked. "What the…" she spits.

"Ladies, I think it's time we head back downstairs," I feign a smile at the obnoxious pair and step away trying to urge them back to the stairs.

"I _really _want to see HIS bedroom," she states, more firmly this time.

Rose steps around me, ready to let Tanya have it, but she stops when I grab her arm. I smile at my friend and she nods, slightly.

I look over at Tanya and she is standing there with her arms crossed, tapping her foot. I don't think she realizes but the front of her dress is gaping wide-open, showing me most of one boob and the nipple of the other one. I can't help but giggle and Rose joins me shortly after I start.

"What?" Tanya asks defiantly.

I shake my head and before I can say anything Lauren tries to explain, "Tan, your boo…"

"Shut-up, Lauren," Tanya snaps, cutting her friend off, "What in the _fuck_ are you two laughing at?" Tanya's face is becoming red and she is fuming. Lauren immediately acts like a scolded dog and ducks her head.

I really want to put her in her place. I want her to know that this is OUR house: Edward's and MINE, not just his. I really want to tell her that I know _exactly_ what happened between her and Edward: NOTHING. And I really want to tell her that she should complain to her Plastic Surgeon for giving her cross-eyed boobs. Instead, I laugh harder and say, "Tanya look down."

Tanya looks down at the floor and, initially, doesn't see the problem. And the second she does it registers on her face. Her eyes bug almost completely out of her head and she immediately turns her back to me and Rosalie and obviously begins repositioning herself. It doesn't take more than a few seconds before she has spun back around to face us, her face in twisted in anger. "Lauren, why didn't you say something?" she snarls.

"I…" Lauren begins, but Tanya cuts her off.

Tanya glares, "Just shut the hell up." Then she turns her anger on me, "and you…" she points a finger at me, "You're just jealous." She smiles smugly, seeming satisfied with her brilliant deductive reasoning.

I find her statement hilarious and laugh in her face, "yeah… you figured me out… I'm jealous of your nasty attitude…" Tanya takes a step closer to me, "and your greasy husband…" and then she's in my face, "and I'm especially jealous of your wonky-ass boob-job." I hear Rose laughing behind me and I really want to turn around and give her a high-five. But, Tanya is inches away from me glaring at me with nothing but malice in her eyes.

"Fuck you, Bella Swan," she spews, "You're nothing. And I hope you know," Tanya pushes past me, ramming her shoulder into mine as she passed, "_he's_ never going to marry _you_." She turns around and looks at me all smug and proud, "COME ON, LAUREN," she commands.

I can't help but feel that this entire situation is absurd. The fact that Tanya is here, in our house insulting me, acting as if she has a clue about who I am and who Edward is absolutely ludicrous. I find myself laughing at her stupidity… again. But, before she can walk completely out the door I call, "Hey, Tanya?"

She turns her head and looks back at me, "What?" she snaps.

"You can think what you like. All I know is that I am HERE. And you are where, exactly?" I ask, with just a touch of attitude.

I watch her sputter, searching for something to say. All she can manage is growly, frustrated groan and then she turns and walks away with Lauren on her heels.

I take a deep breath and relax. Rose comes to my side and throws up her hand to give me the high-five I wanted moments ago. "Well done, Bella," she smiles as she squeezes my hand, "I was beginning to think that you didn't have it in you."

"Oh, Come on, Rose," I smile, "you know me better than that." I walk into my bathroom to take a minute to freshen up. Rose follows and shuts the door behind us, giving us some privacy.

"I just have one question…" she tilts her head and I nod urging her to continue, "did she and Edward date while you guys were apart?"

"Nope," I knew this would come up sooner or later and I should have just told Alice and Rose earlier. I had been hoping that Tanya would just behave and I wouldn't have to. "From what everyone who is _sane_ has told me, Tanya met Edward, shortly after I left, at a party at Kate and Garrett's and she immediately became infatuated with him. He never reciprocated. Never took her anywhere or did anything with her. He did tell me that at one point she showed up at the Officer's quarters one night demanding to suck his dick. She made a huge scene and had to be escorted off the base. No one really could figure out how she got on the base in the first place and all everyone else knows is that she was 'drunk and disorderly'. And since then I guess she's just lurked from afar."

"But, she's married, right?" Rose questions with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, she is," I nod, "and Eric is a nice guy. I just don't understand that pairing. I guess he married her because she's hot and she married him because… well… I really don't know why."

"Maybe he's hung like a horse," Rose laughs and I can't help but join her.

Before we can gossip any further there's a knock at the bathroom door.

"Ladies," the voice says.

"I think it's Edward," I whisper to Rosalie and she just smiles and mouths, "Duh," making me have to stifle my giggle.

"Everything alright in there?" Edward asks as he taps on the door again.

Rose dramatically throws the door open and smiles at Edward, "Of course it is, _Eddie_."

When the door had opened, Edward had worry written across his face. His eyes were hard and his forehead was furrowed. But, Rose's teasing put him at ease. I could see his brow relax as he smiles back at her. Rose steps past Edward as he told her, "Hey, _Rosie_, there's somebody looking for you downstairs."

"Well then, I will just give you two a moment and go see what everyone is doing downstairs." She steps past Edward and disappears quickly.

Edward steps into the bathroom and closes the door behind him. His face is expressionless as he turns his gaze onto me and I can't tell if he's angry or not. "What the hell happened, Bella?" He asks in a calm almost cold voice.

"Edward…" I begin as I lean back against the vanity. I'm not sure what Tanya could have said that has made him so angry, but he has to know me better than that.

"You know what?" he cuts me off abruptly before I can explain and in the blink of an eye he is standing in front of me and my face is even with his chest. His hands smack down on top of the vanity, trapping me in between his strong, muscular arms. "Look at me," he commands. I gulp down another breath and look up through my eyelashes to find his green eyes boring into mine. He looks angry and incredibly sexy. "I don't fucking care," he growls through clenched teeth and then his lips crash into mine.

I am completely lost. He looked so angry and now his lips are pressed to mine and before I can react he takes my bottom lip in between his teeth and bites down just enough to make me gasp into his mouth. His arms wrap around my waist and he slams my body against his. My hands go around his waist and I sneak them under his t-shirt and feel his warm, smooth skin over taught muscle and now it's his turn to react. He shutters and I take the opportunity slide my tongue between his lips. Our tongues slide and move against each other smoothly and I want more. I grab the hem of his shirt and yank it up. We break our kiss and Edward ducks down and I pull his shirt over his head.

His mouth immediately comes back to mine and I rake my fingers through Edward's closely cropped, auburn hair, down the back of his neck and across his shoulders. His lips leave mine and he nips at my chin and then my ear. He shivers when I continue my way down his perfect chest and press just a little harder as I circle his nipples. My hands continue their descent and tracing the cut of his abs and finally coming to rest on the waistband of his jeans.

Edward's hands find the ties to my sundress on my shoulders and my dress is quickly in a puddle on the floor. He palms my tits and I moan at the warmth radiating from his hands. I push my chest harder against Edward's hands, longing for more pressure. He obliges and begins pushing into my nipples and then pinching and pulling them. The contrast of the sensations has me writhing against him and I swear I want him so bad and the proof is dripping down the insides of my thighs. His teeth graze a path down my neck to the union of my neck and shoulder. He pauses there for a moment kissing and lightly sucking on the spot, when out of nowhere he bites into my flesh… hard. I can't help but cry out in surprise, "Fuck, Edward!" He kisses the spot once more and then his head dips down and quickly takes an erect nipple into his mouth. I arch my back, thrusting my chest further into his face, as he twirls and bites with his mouth and his fingers mimic his mouths movement with my other nipple.

My pussy is throbbing and I move my legs to straddle one of his, seeking any kind of friction I can find. But, Edward ruins my plan by pushing me back and up onto the vanity. The cool marble feels good against my skin, but the sensation is quickly forgotten when Edward resumes his consumption of my body. He takes the other nipple in his mouth and begins the exquisite torture all over again. Except this time he steps flush between my legs and I can feel his erection bulging through his jeans pressing oh, so deliciously against my pussy. I groan and I know that all he has to do is grind against my clit and I will come. I push myself harder against him, wanting to cum so badly. His hips pull away from mine and I gasp at the loss of contact. I look down and he is looking up from my chest… grinning… with my nipple still between his teeth. I feel his free hand skim its way up the inside of my thigh and I jerk away and he bites down harder on my nipple.

His hand makes its' way to my center and I hear him groan, "So fucking wet," against my chest. His fingers slide up and down my wet, swollen folds, teasing my entrance and then teasing my clit, but never really giving me enough friction to really get me off. I begin to squirm against his hand and he pulls his hand completely away.

"Edward," I whine wanting something… anything.

His hand comes up to face and his fingers trace my lips. I can smell my faint, sweet, musky scent on his fingers and my tongue darts out and I can taste myself on his fingers. He dips his fingers deeper into my mouth and I lick and tease them with my tongue. Edward removes his fingers from my mouth quickly replacing them with his mouth and tongue. He kisses me hard and then begins licking my lips. His kiss slows and then he pulls back to look at me. His eyes are dazzling and his sexy half-grin is gracing his handsome face, "Bella, You're gonna cum on my tongue and then you're gonna cum on my cock."

All I can do is nod because he has rendered me speechless. I know it's not going t take much to make me cum and I can tell by the look on Edward's face that he absolutely means business. He chuckles at my reaction and leans in and kisses me. His hands run down my sides, outside my hips and down the outside of my thighs to my ankles. He takes an ankle into each hand and pushes them back so that my feet are on the vanity and my knees are almost up around my head. When he releases my ankles he teases his way back up the inside of my legs with his fingers, making me squirm as he goes. Both of his hands begin to tease my pussy. I can no longer tell which hand is doing what and before I can find my satisfaction he pulls his hands away and is on his knees in front of me looking fixedly at my pussy. "So beautiful," he whispers, making me want to push my pussy against his face. He leans in and meticulously licks the length of my slit and then flicks my clit when he reaches the top. I groan his name as he continues to lick. His tongue pushes inside and his nose brushes my clit. I shift my hips so that I am _finally_ getting a little friction. He shifts so that his mouth is now on my clit and two of his fingers push inside my throbbing pussy. He's working my clit with his tongue and his fingers curve into my body, pressing the spot that only he has been able to find. My legs begin to quiver and he sucks harder on my clit and I come completely undone. He pushes me until my legs fall off the vanity and are dangling, limp beside Edward's head.

Edward stands up, still between my legs, and kisses his way up my stomach, between my breasts and I'm still panting when he places a wet kiss on my lips. "Can you stand?" he murmurs against my lips.

I nod and he kisses me again. He breaks away from me and lifts me to my feet. "Take my pants off," he demands. I smile as my hands go to the fly of his jeans. I deftly unbutton and unzip his jeans and begin to pull his jeans and boxer-briefs down. As soon as I get them past his ass his erection springs free and is waiving proudly in my face. I kneel down and help him free his feet from his jeans. I rock back onto my heels and look up to admire his beautiful, rigid cock. He's thick and long and perfect… and mine. I look up to find him staring down at me and I smile up at him as I ease my hand around him. I stroke him once and then lean forward and take him into my mouth. His hands immediately go to the back of my head and he sets the pace. I swirl my tongue around him and he hisses my name and pulls his cock out of my mouth.

"Stand up," he growls. I stand and he spins my around and pulls my hips back, making my ass jut towards him. He effortlessly slides his cock into my wetness and begins pushing his way in and out of me. I place my hands on the edge of the vanity to brace myself. Edward grabs my shoulder with one hand and my hip with another and sets our pace. His hands begin to wander: one find its' way to a breast while the other moves to clit and begins to stroke. His fingers are like magic and I instantly feel the beginnings of my next orgasm. He circles and pinches and then circles and pinches. I begin groaning and pushing back harder against him, shifting my hips just so, searching for the perfect angle that will give me what I want. The hand on my breast moves and digs in to my hip, giving him more leverage. He hits it just so and can't help but cry out his name. He hits it again and puts more pressure on my clit pushing me to the edge.

My legs begin to shake and before I can really let go Edward orders, "grab your ankles." I oblige and fold in half to grab an ankle with each hand. Edward pushes harder slamming into my backside and the feeling is different, but still so good. It only takes him a few strokes and I begin cumming around his cock. "Holy fuck, Bella, you're so fucking tight," he groans as he spills into me.

He pulls me up so that my back is against his chest and wraps his arms around me, enveloping me in a warm hug. "I love you, Bella," he whispers in my ear and nuzzles my neck.

"I love you," I simply state.

He abruptly pulls out of my and slaps my ass, making me yelp in surprise, "Now hurry up and get dressed," he smiles mischievously, "we have a party to attend to."

"Shit," I moan. I completely spaced out our guests downstairs. "They're gonna know Edward," I blush, completely embarrasses that everyone will know that we were up here fucking around.

Edward is pulling on his jeans when he laughs, "Who cares?"

"I do," I shake my head at him. I can't believe he's acting so nonchalant. "You really don't care if they know we were having sex?"

"Listen, after Tanya came downstairs, Jane suggested that I come and check on you," Edward pulled his t-shirt back over his head, "and you know, when Jane speaks," he smiles crookedly at me, "we ALL listen."

"But…" I start. He reaches up and cups my face with his hands.

"But, nothing," Edward kisses my gently, "None of those people matter, Bella. The only thing that matters to me is right here." He kisses my lips and lingers there for a moment. He takes a step back and bends over and picks up my dress. He opens it slightly and then smiles up at me, "step in," he offers. I step into my dress and he nimbly pulls it up my body. He adjusts the front and then pulls the ties up to my shoulders and slowly ties them. He places a single kiss on the mark he has left on my base of my neck and whispers so quietly I am not sure if he _really_ meant for me to hear him, "mine." I shiver as his warm breath spills down my back and he wraps his arms around my waist. His mouth is still lingering over my mark when he nips at me again and then he roughly sucks the skin into his mouth.

"Edward," I say a little louder than what may be necessary. But, I need him to snap out of whatever train of thought he is having and come back to reality.

He pulls back and looks at me. He looks down at my neck and then back to my face, "I'm sorry" he says quietly.

Edward has always liked to leave his mark on me. Normally, it's before he leaves and after he comes back from training or going out to sea. And it doesn't bother me. It's actually quite the opposite, I love wearing his mark. It's a reminder when I look in the mirror that I am his and that his mouth had been _there_. It IS unusual for him to do it while we have guest downstairs and to leave it in spot that is so hard to cover up.

I grab him by his shirt and he looks into my eyes. And I can tell from the crease in his brow that there's something going on with him and it's something more than this Tanya business. "Edward, what is it?" I ask gently.

He shakes his head and then rests his forehead against mine, "James stopped by."

"And?" I ask not understanding the importance, "wasn't he supposed to?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't for the party." He's quiet. And that's when I figure it out.

He has to go. Something is going on and they have to leave.

"You're leaving?" I question, already knowing the answer.

He nods, "I have to be on base in 30 minutes."

"What can you tell me?"

"I don't know anything right now," Edward kisses my cheek, "but as soon as I get the details I will let you know what I can."

I can already deduce that because this is not planned exercise. It is one of two things: it's either unschedule training or something has gone wrong somewhere in the Pacific and they need to go help whoever is already there.

"Ok," I lean and kiss him hard. I need to feel his mouth on mine and my tongue against mine. I can feel the lump rising in my throat and I pull away. "You need to go."

"Yeah," he hugs me again, "Come downstairs with me?"

I nod my head. I am fighting to stay in control of my emotions. I keep telling myself there is no reason for me to be upset. We don't even know what's going on yet.

He holds my hand all the way down the stairs. We turn towards the family room to see Emmett talking quietly with Rosalie and Jasper and Alice holding one another on the couch.

"Everyone left?" I ask Edward. And he just nods.

"Ready Em?" Edward asks.

Emmett looks up and nods. He gives Rose a peck on the cheek, shakes Jaspers hand and then ruffles Alice's hair. "Let's go Big Daddy," Emmett cracks at Edward, breaking the silence and making us all laugh.

Edward walks over and gives Alice a hug, then Rose and then Jasper. I hear him tell Jasper to, "take care of our girls." Jasper just nods.

As Edward makes his way back to me I want to cry. I don't want him to leave. Not like this. Not when we have know I idea why. He smiles a sweet smile at me and then takes me back into his arms. "I love you, Bella," he whispers into my ear.

"I love you," I tell him back.

"I will text you as soon as I know," he says giving me one last squeeze.

"OK, be safe," I say as he steps towards the stairs. He is smiling as he walks away. "Emmett!" I yell, "BRING MY MAN BACK IN ONE PIECE OR I'M KICKING YOUR ASS!"

I hear Emmett laugh and he replies, "YES, MA'AM!"

I stand there for a moment, listening to them go out the garage and when I know they are gone I turn to see the worried faces of my girls.

"We don't know what's going on yet. As soon as we do, he'll text me," I reassure them. I walk to the kitchen and start putting things away and cleaning up. If I can keep myself busy maybe I won't cry. Maybe I won't break down into a sobbing heap. My 'trying' is cut short by Alice's arms wrapping around my waist.

I turn in her arms and hug her and I lose it. I can hold back as all my worries are released into body-wracking sobs. Jasper comes and hugs the two of us trying to soothe us and then Rose comes and wraps an arm around each of our waists.

"It's gonna be okay, girls," Jasper offers, "come and sit down. We will take care of that shit later."

We reluctantly follow his advice and sit on the couch. We talk for a few minutes and then I hear my cell-phone ringing in the kitchen. Jasper jumps up to retrieve the phone.

I take a deep breath. I don't want to look at the phone. I know whatever it says it will be ok. It will either say 'break' or 'TV'. Break means training and TV, well, means watch the TV because I might see something about what's happening on the TV.

"Hey, Jazz?" I ask before he can return to the family room.

"Yeah?" he answers.

"Just tell me what it says." I brace myself waiting for the bad news.

"It says, 'TV'" Jasper says in a confused voice.

"Fuck," I mutter to myself.

"WHAT IN THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?" Alice yells.

"It means the only details we might get are from watching TV. It means somewhere in this world something _really bad_ is going down and _our boys _are going to try and help." I take a deep breath and calm down. "It means there will be a spouse debriefing in the morning where they will tell us little to nothing... It means that I need a fucking drink…"

Rose laughs. Alice is trying not to cry. And Jasper begins to mix some drinks.

a/n: Thanks for reading ... now review :-)

so... a little drama for our crew... please tell me what you think?


	7. Chapter 7

**I do not own Twilight... but I do love it so...**

**.**

**.**

**a/n: Sorry this is a day late... LOST got in the way... and I was having some motivation problems... **

**.**

**.**

Rose comes and sits next to me on the couch. She takes my hand in hers and smiles sweetly at me. "It's going to be ok, you know," she says softly. It's meant to be reassuring, but it's not.

I smile back and tell her, "I know… it has to be."

Jasper comes to us, drinks in hand. "Margaritas, Ladies," he hands Alice hers and then gives me and Rose our drinks.

"Thanks, Jasper," I smile up at my brother.

He smiles back at me, but it's strained. "Welcome, Bells," he nods and takes his seat beside Alice.

We are all just sitting here, trying not to look at one another, and the silence is deafening. And I'm just not sure what to do with myself.

Part of me wants to close myself in my bedroom and cry myself to sleep. But, I know that would just upset Alice. This is the part of me that is completely mortified that Edward will not be coming home. This is the emotional, illogical side that is _screaming_ at me that this is _really_ bad.

The logical, rational part of me knows that this situation isn't good. This part of me also knows that Edward and all the men in his platoon are very intelligent, capable men who will do whatever they have to do get their entire platoon home. This part tells me to get up, put one foot in front of the other and function.

"I need to eat," I say, out of what seems like nowhere.

Alice snaps her head to look at me, "What? How can you think about eating at a time like this?" she asks seeming completely appalled with my statement. Jasper gives her a squeeze trying to remind her to check herself.

I smile at her because I completely understand where she is coming from… I used to be there.

"Al, if I don't eat, the stress will make me sick," I explain quietly.

"Oh… I'm sorry… I just… I haven't had to…" Alice couldn't get her thoughts out for me to hear. But, she never had to deal with this part of Edward's life. She knew it was like this, but she had never had to _feel_ it.

"No worries," I say as I stand up from the couch and head towards the kitchen. There's lots f food left from the barbeque. But, nothing looks particularly appetizing. I open the refrigerator and push a few containers around and then decide on the pasta salad that I had made earlier in the day. I make myself a quick bowl and ask, "Does anyone want any pasta salad before I put it away?"

Jasper immediately speaks up, "I will take some, Bells." He stands up, kisses Alice on the top of her head and walks over to come and stand beside me. "Thanks, Sis," he smiles and takes my bowl from the counter, while I pull another bowl out of the cabinet.

I smile back, "welcome." I make myself another bowl and then put the pasta salad back in the fridge.

Jasper stand next to me and gives me a nudge with his elbow, "Do you think we should call the parents?" he asks quietly, not wanting to alarm Alice.

"We should wait until tomorrow, until after the debriefing. There's no point in calling them now when we know nothing."

Jasper just nods and I am beginning to feel stifled. "Hey guys," I pause and Alice and Rose turn to look at me, "I think I'm going to go sit out front and watch the sunset and listen to the ocean."

Rose smiles and nods as Alice asks, "Want some company?"

I take a deep breath, because I really don't. If I am going to have to deal with deafening silence then I'd rather just do it alone. But, I know that Jasper, Alice and Rose don't know how to deal with the situation. I realize that, right now, I have to show them that it's ok to act normal. "Sure," I give a half-hearted smile, "but listen, guys… I need us to talk about this. I can't handle this…" I gesture my arms around waving them at my family. "If we are going to get through this _together_ then we need to talk. So, if you're willing to come out front and actually have a conversation, then you are more than welcome."

Rose fires back with, "Gee, _Isabella_, tell us how you really feel." She's smiling at me and then she turns to Alice, "Come on, Pixie, let's go watch a California sunset." Alice nods a yes. Rose goes and stands in front of her and pulls Alice to her feet.

The pair raise up from the couch and come to stand in front of me, "Tell us what to do, Bells, we haven't the foggiest idea what we are _supposed_ to do," Alice chimes in as she reaches forward and takes a hold of my free hand.

I squeeze her hand gently, "Let's go out front and talk about it, ok."

She smiles and nods. And I make my way through the house to the front patio with Alice and Rose in tow. I sit down on my wicker chaise and Alice and Rose take the wicker settee to my right and look at towards the ocean.

The sky is changing as the sun is setting. The sprinkling of clouds are just slightly tinged with the faintest bits of pink and the sky at horizon is beginning to turn orange. I can already tell that this will be and awesome sunset. The kind of sunset that Edward and I loved to sit and watch. I can't help but of the times we have sat in this very chair, wrapped up in one another and watched the "fireworks", as Edward liked to say.

Jasper's low whistle brings me out of my revelry, "Wow, look at that," he sighs. I look up at my brother to see him smiling out at the ocean, already seeming to appreciate the beauty unfolding before him.

"You aint' seen nothin' yet," I giggle in my cheesiest, southern accent. "Edward would say that 'we're in for some fireworks tonight'."

The canvas is literally changing before our eyes. The orange is becoming more intense, almost red. The clouds have turned into bright pink streaks leading up through the orange, over the fading yellow and contrasting sharply with the remaining blue.

"We sit out here every night we can and watch this," I add quietly, nodding towards the beach, and take a bite of my pasta salad.

"So, what's next, Bells?" Alice asks quietly.

"We watch _this_ sun set; we clean up, we go to bed, we wake up and then we just keep putting one foot in front of the other can keep going." I pause for a second and look around at my friends. The trio look as if they are pondering all the worlds' problems and I can't help but love them for being here. "And guys… we can talk about this… it's ok…" my thought trails off as I am trying to reassure them.

I take another bite of the salad and look back towards the horizon. The clouds have dissipated and the white ball of fire is sagging low, lighting the horizon up with fiery reds and oranges. The potent orange striation slides into a vibrant yellow that fades into the darkening blue sky. The contrast of the brilliant colors is startling and simply amazing.

"Isn't it beautiful, guys?" I ask my guests.

They nod an 'mmmhhmmmm' in appreciation. Jasper has Alice sitting on his lap and she is leaning back into his chest while his arms are wrapped around her. Rose is sitting in her chair with his legs pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around herself.

I notice a tear roll down Roses' cheek and I can't help but ask, "Rose, what's the matter?"

She tilts her head towards me and rest her cheek on her knee, "I'm just worried… this was easier when I was thousands of miles away."

"I know," I whisper, "It doesn't' get easier per se, you just get used to the feelings. You learn to shift to a different mind-set while their gone." Alice and Jasper turn to face me, listening intently. "Right now, I know he's safe. By the time we are de-briefed tomorrow, that's when the guys could be knee-deep into _something_."

"What will they tell you at the de-briefing?" Jasper asked.

"Nothing, really," I smile slightly, "If they are truly involved in a situation, we will be told very little. We will probably find out more tonight by watching CNN then what I will tomorrow."

Rose just shakes her head, "that's fucked up," she murmurs.

"Yeah, it is. But it's the life Edward has chosen and it's the life I choose to live by choosing to be with him." My emotions are beginning to rise in my throat and I feel tears begin to sting my eyes, "Here's the thing… Edward and Emmett and all the guys are amazing at what they do. They literally put themselves in harms' way as a way of life and they rely on each other to get in and out of situations that they AREN'T allowed to talk about. Does it scare the hell out of me that Edward's in danger? Abso-fucking-lutely! But, I have faith in him and I have faith in his men."

"How can you?" Alice whimpers, "What has changed?"

"It's a choice," I state simply. "Before I left, Edward really didn't want me around the guys from the platoon. He kept us pretty secluded. He thought he was protecting me and t he didn't realize that keeping me isolated from people in the same situation really led to me leaving. I had no one to rely on other than him and he was never willing to communicate about his job."

When I left, Edward eventually befriended Garrett and Kate. And then he and Emmett became inseparable. Garrett and Kate helped Edward to see that what he had done made things unbearable for me. And when Edward and I got back together Garrett and Kate spent a lot of time getting to know me and then even more time helping me and Edward come up with plans that would help us get through situations _just like this._"

Rosalie looks me square in the eyes and asks, "So, what's the _plan_?"

"Well, right now, it's _hurry up and wait_." I set my bowl on the table next to me and sit up straighter on my chaise. I angle my body towards the trio and continue, "I know that unless they are heading south to Mexico, there will be a few hours that I know with absolute certainty that Edward is safe. I also know that if we watch the news and nothing is "going on" around the Pacific then we won't be told anything tomorrow. If we see something on TV then we can get a better gauge of what's going on. And they will tell us very little tomorrow."

No matter what, we won't know when they will be back. And no matter what we won't be told where they are. So, we wait as patiently as we can. But, at the same time, we put one foot in front of the other and try to keep functioning. I talk to Kate when I need her to tell me it's going to be ok. I get up, get dressed, eat, go to work, eat, come home, eat, go to bed and do the same thing all over again until I hear from Edward. And there are times when I hear nothing until he is home." I take deep breath and as I look at my friends. I see Alice trying not to cry and Jasper rubbing her arms trying to soothe her.

Rose asks, "How often does this happen?" Her face is strained and can see that she is profoundly affected by what is happening.

"It hasn't happened since I've been back. Before I left, a couple of years ago, it was happening a lot. And the last time it happened, Edward had to leave without any warning and he just showed up at the apartment 3 days later at 3:00 in the morning." I had to stop for a moment. Just thinking about that night made it hard to breathe and my chest ache. "That was the day I left," I sigh.

"That was the day he came home beat up?" Alice asks.

I nod, "His entire right shoulder blade was black and blue and with everything going on at the time…" I put my head down and stare and my hands in my lap, "I just couldn't handle it anymore," I whisper to myself. I really thought he was going to head out and not make it back. And I just couldn't stay and wait for that to happen.

"Bella?"

I heard my brother and raised my head to look over at him, "Yeah, Jazz?" His face is hard and I can tell that he is worried about me.

"Are you sure you _want_ do this?" he asks.

"Jasper, I love Edward and my life was incomplete when we were apart. Wherever Edward is, is where I _belong._"

Jasper just nods his head. And then we all go back to watching the sun finish falling past the horizon. The sky has turned to a dark royal blue and fades to yellow as your eye falls to the horizon.

I shiver as the ocean breeze begins to significantly chill the air. I'm about to ask everyone if they are ready to go inside when I hear a faint rumbling. The rumbling grows louder and I realize that the sound is that of a very large jet taking off from the base just north of us.

I look to the left and everyone follows my gaze. The roar of the engines grows louder. And then I see it… I see the jet shooting out over the Pacific Ocean. There's just enough light to see that it's a huge, C-130 Hercules… a troop carrier.

"Whoa," Rose whispers.

Alice mumbles a, "wow."

And Jasper just smiles.

A tear rolls down my cheek as I tell my family, "There they go."

**.**

**.**

**a/n: Thanks for reading... I will have the next chapter out Saturday or Sunday... **

**.**

**Please review and let me know what you think... I rewrote so many different part... I finally just had to stop editing and get it done... I like where it went... do you?**


	8. Chapter 8

**I do not own Twilight, but I do love it so...**

**.**

**a/n: sorry this is a little late... excuses at the bottom... happy reading!**

**.**

**.**

**.**

The roar of the jet engines fades quickly, but I can still see the planes lights flicker in the sky. I don't want to move until I can't see the lights any longer. I know Edward is on that plane and I can feel my heart pounding in my throat, choking me.

"Are you sure that was them?" Rose whispers.

I nod, "yeah, it would be just too much of a coincidence for it not to be." The lights have finally faded into the darkening horizon, but I still can't take my eyes away from the sky. _Be safe… come home… be safe… come home… be safe… come home…_ I chant over and over in my head, wishing that he could hear me.

When I finally peel my eyes away from the sky to look at my friends, I see that Alice and Jasper have disappeared and Rose is still tucked in on herself on the chair. "Where'd they go?" I ask.

"Al said something about cleaning up," Rose sighs. "Bells, are _you_ okay?" she asks quietly.

"Ummmm, I think so," I reply. "Of course, I'm worried about what's going on and I wish that they were all still here and we were still having a barbeque… but I just need to try and stay positive… they will be back home before we know it. How 'bout you? You ok?" I ask.

Rose is quiet for a moment before answering, "I am not really sure how I feel about all of this. I mean, Emmett seemed really nice, but I am not sure if I am up for this kind of relationship," she shakes her head. "I just keep asking myself if I really want to do _this_."

"Do what?" I ask, just slightly puzzled.

"_THIS_," Rose gestured widely with her hands, "I like Emmett and I only met him tonight. I want to get to know him better, but…" he voice trailed off and she paused for a couple of seconds, "I'm just not sure that I can be the kind of woman that Emmett needs."

By the look on her face I can tell she is completely serious. I want to reassure her that she is strong enough. That, if I can do it, she can, too. I want to tell her that the guys will be fine, that they will be home before we know it.

"Rose," I start, "there's no need to make that kind of decision, yet."

"You're wrong, Bells," she whispers.

I can't help but cock my head trying to make sure I heard her correctly, "What? What do you mean?"

"I mean that I can see a future with Emmett. I mean that in less than half a day I already feel a connection with him and I'm not sure I should risk my heart on someone when things like today can happen. I just don't think I will ever be able to get used to this."

"Rose, I'm not gonna lie and say that I am used to this, because I'm not. I hate this. I hate that Edward is gone. That he had to leave and go to God knows where doing God knows what." I take a deep breath before I continue, "And you know, as well as I do, that there was a time when I couldn't handle it any longer and I left."

Rose turned to face me, "What changed, Bella? How are you able to do it, _now_?"

"It's pretty ironic that _you_ are asking me that," I smile at Rosalie, "The day Jake and I were supposed to get married, you asked me, "Do you need him like you need the air that you _breathe?_" And I never answered you. I didn't need Jake. He was just filling the gap until Edward and I came to our senses. I _need_ Edward. I 'need him like I need the air that I breathe'. I have to be where he is. There is no option now."

Rose and I stare at each other for a few minutes and I see that the guys' sudden departure is weighing heavily on her. "Honey," I continue, "just take your time and get to know him… there's no rush. You don't have to make a decision tomorrow."

"I know, Bella… I know," she sighs.

"Hey, why don't we head in and see what Jasper and Alice is doing?" I stand up and offer her my hand.

"Ok,"Rosalie smiles and takes my hand as she stands up.

We walk through the house to find Alice and Jasper busily cleaning the kitchen. Alice is doing the dishes and Jasper is wiping down the granite counters with a washcloth.

"Well, hell, I guess I need to keep you two around," I joke.

"Funny, Bella, funny," Alice laughs.

"You guys need some help?" I offer.

Jasper rinses the washcloth and faces me, "Nah, why don't you guys go pick a movie?"

"Ok, there's popcorn in the pantry." I turned to head back to the Family Room and realized that I wanted to change clothes, "I'm gonna run up and change. Wanna get more comfortable, Rose?"

She nods as I turn to head up the stairs. When we reach the second floor landing we split up. I head to the right towards my bedroom and she heads off to the left towards her guest room.

"Which one's mine?" she asks.

"The first door on the left," I answer.

I walk into my bedroom and head to the closet to grab some sweats and a t-shirt. My eyes glance over to Edward's side of the closet and I can't help but step over to the drawers that contain his t-shirts. The sweet, earthy smell that _is _Edward permeates the air. I sigh as I open the top drawer and pull out one his favorite t-shirts. It's just a heather gray exercise Tee that has NAVY printed across the chest in dark gray, reflective block lettering. I untie my dress and it falls to the ground, immediately I pull the shirt over my head and revel in its' softness and scent. I feel better for a minute, lighter. I feel closer to Edward, even though I know our distance is growing exponentially larger by the second.

I banish that last thought from my head and take a few steps over to my side of the closet, grab a pair of black yoga pants and walk out of the closet and into my bathroom. I pull the pants on and then throw my hair up into a messy bun on the back of my head.

Walking out of my room I peek down the hall and see that the light is off in Rosalie's room. I head down the stairs and find my friends sitting on the couch waiting for me. Alice and Jasper are propped against one another, sharing a large bowl of popcorn, in the oversized chair. Rosalie is sitting on the couch covered in a chenille blanket, still looking miserable.

I take my seat beside her and ask, "What are we watching?"

Jasper smiles, "The Forty-year-old Virgin."

"Again?" I whine.

"Oh, come on… You know it's my favorite," he whines back, batting puppy-dog eyes at me.

"Fine," I moan.

Jazz starts the movie and it doesn't take long for the cool ocean breeze to chill me enough to need a blanket. I pull another chenille throw off the back of the couch and wrap it around me. I set a throw pillow against Rose's legs and rest my head on the pillow, allowing my legs to rest on the arm of the couch.

The movie is an easy distraction, easily making me laugh.

The next thing I know I am waking up to the pleasant smell of coffee filling the air. I stretch and yawn, realizing that I am still lying on the Family room couch. I look around and see that I am the only one in the room. I must have fallen asleep during the movie and been left when everyone else went to bed.

I stay still for a few moments, wondering where Edward is, hoping he's just covering another team that had to be moved somewhere else. Hoping it's not his team that is being put in harms' way. I decide to get up and send him an e-mail and let him know how things are going, and that I love him and miss him and can't wait for him to get his ass back home.

I sit up and stretch, again. I turn to look into the kitchen and see Jasper sitting at the kitchen table. "How long you been up, Jazz?" I ask.

Startled, he looks up at me quickly, "just long enough to get the coffee going." He smiles and continues, "You ok?"

I stand and walk towards the table and take the seat next to him. "Yeah, I'm ok. You know you don't have to keep asking me that." I smile and nudge him with my elbow.

"Sorry, Sis. I'm just worried about you," he says gently.

"I know," I measure what I am about to say, because I really don't want to hurt my brother's feelings, "but the more you ask me that the harder you're making it for me."

"How's that?" he asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, it makes me feel like you're expecting me to be weak, or to fall apart."

"I'm sorry, Bells. That's not my intention, at all." Jasper takes my hand and gives it a squeeze, "Just talk to me if you need someone. And I will try not to ask you that anymore… I'll try."

"Thanks." I smile.

Jasper stands and walks over to make himself a cup of coffee. "Coffee?" he offers.

"Yeah…"

"Milk with just a dash of coffee, right?" he laughs.

I can't help but laugh, "and three tablespoons of sugar."

"Can you even taste the coffee like that?" he jokes.

"No, but that's the point, right?" I joke back as he hands me my mug. I take a sip and smile, "perfect… damn your good."

Jasper is laughing as he stands next to the table and asks, "Do you want to sit outside in the courtyard? It looks like another beautiful morning."

"Sure, let me get my laptop and I will be right out." I hand Jasper my mug and walk over to the Butler's Pantry to grab my charging cell phone and my laptop.

I look at my phone and see that I have three new texts. The first is from Edward and it simply says, "TV". The second is from Kate saying, "Debriefing at 11:00 at the hangar." And the third is from Edward and it is another simple statement, "I love you". The time-stamp on the three texts were within 20 minutes of one another and I'm pissed that I missed the last one from Edward. I should have texted him back last night when I got the "TV" message, but I didn't. I had been distracted with my guests. I quickly sent him a text telling him that I loved him and to be safe. I knew he couldn't reply, but I hope he gets it soon.

I step through the French doors that lead out to the courtyard and set my laptop up on the table next to Jasper. I boot it up and sit down and begin sipping my coffee while I wait.

"The paper should be here," I offer Jasper.

"Ok," he replies. He stands and stretches and heads through another set of French doors that open to the Living room.

I glance at my laptop, log-in and immediately check my e-mail. There's the normal e-mail from Kate about the debriefing, some junk, but nothing from Edward.

Jasper makes his way back into the courtyard and quietly takes his seat next to me and begins rifling through the paper looking for the comics. He always reads that section first.

I decide to go ahead and send Edward an e-mail. It's short and sweet:

_E,_

_I love you. Please be safe and get home to me as fast as you can. E-mail me when you can._

_All my love, always and forever,_

_B_

I close the laptop and push it to the side and pick up my cup of coffee. I take a sip and look over at my brother. His wavy, blonde hair is looking just a little shaggy. His eyes are a little blood shot and there are dark circles under his eyes. He looks like he didn't get much sleep last night.

"Hey, Jazz…" I smile as his deep blue eyes meet mine, "_you_ ok?"

He nods, "yeah, I guess." His mouth is slightly frowning and his brow is furrowed. I know that he's not ok.

"You can talk to me about it. I can handle it," I say quietly. "I think it's easier to get through _this_," I gesture a circle in the distance between us, "if we talk about it."

He clears his throat and I can see his eyes well up, just slightly, with tears. "Sis, I'm just worried."

"That's understandable," I answer. "What worries you the most?"

"You," he sighs as he looks straight into my eyes. A single tear rolls down his cheek, breaking my heart. A lump forms in my throat and I set my mug down and step over to Jasper's chair and hug my brother. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me in his lap. "If something happens to Edward, it will crush you and I don't ever want to see you hurt like that," he whispers.

I rest my head on his shoulder and all I can do is nod in agreement. It's still hard to breathe and I'm fighting back the tears filling in my eyes. "He's gonna come back," I manage to whisper.

"I know he is," Jasper gives me a squeeze. "I think Alice is right, though. I think that being here and watching him have to leave without ANY warning really made it a _real_ to me. I mean," he pauses and clears his throat, "we all know that Edward's job is serious and dangerous, but last night just slammed it home for me."

I sit up and pull up and away and g back to my chair. I completely understand where Jasper's coming from. Watching Edward leave has never been easy, especially when it's very possible he may never come back. "I know, Jazz," I pick up my coffee and take another sip, "I can't say that it gets any easier. But, you get used to it. You learn to adapt. You learn who and what helps you get through it."

Jasper nods. And I am amazed to see just how much he looks like our father. His face is hard but his eyes give him away. His eyes are closed as tears slide down his cheeks.

"He's worth it, Jasper. All the worry and heart-ache... Edward is worth every bit of it." I need my brother to understand _exactly_ where I'm coming from, "I love him with everything I am and I'm not going _anywhere_ without him EVER again."

"Ok, Bells," he whispers. He wipes his tear-stained cheeks and looks over at me, "So, what's on the agenda for the day?" he asks, effectively changing the subject.

"Well, I have to be on-base at 11:00. And then I'm planning on meeting Kate for lunch. Then I need to come home and grade some papers for class on Monday. Did you guys have anything planned?"

Jasper shakes his head slightly, "No, not really. I think we want to hit the beach and just chill and maybe catch up n some sleep."

"We should go out to dinner tonight! What do you think?" I ask getting excited about the prospect of taking my crew to some of my favorite places.

Before Jasper can answer we are interrupted by Alice's melodic voice, "there you two are," she sings. Alice steps through the French doors with Rosalie right behind her. They both have their own cups of coffee in their hands. Alice sits down on the other side of Jasper, while Rose sits next to me.

"What are we doing for breakfast?" Rose asks.

"French toast?" I offer.

Rose nods as Jasper groans, "Yeah, I love your French toast," causing Alice to giggle.

"Alright, I will go get it started. Then I have to get ready to go," I say as I turn and head back into the house.

"Where are you going?" Rose asks as she follows me inside.

"I have to be on the base at 11:00 and then I'm meeting Kate for lunch."

"Do you want company? I can go with you." Rose offers.

"Sure, Rose, that would be nice." I walk over to the pantry and pull out the necessary ingredients for breakfast, "You won't be able to come in with me, but it shouldn't take very long."

"Ok," Rose says softly.

Alice and Jasper join us back in the kitchen and begin to assemble a fruit salad while I cook the French toast. Breakfast goes smoothly. We talk about Edward a bit and what we may or may not learn at the debriefing. I reassure them that I will call them immediately after the meeting and let them know whatever I learn.

Jasper asks if he can turn on the TV and I don't hesitate to say yes. Jasper turns the TV to CNN and I know what he's doing. He's hoping to catch a glimpse to where the guys have gone. I want to tell him that he's not going to see anything helpful, but I know he has to figure that out for himself.

We finish eating and the four of us quickly clean up the kitchen.

I look at the clock and see that it's already 9:30. "Hey, Rose, we have to leave here by 10:40, ok?"

"Alright," she finishes drying her hands, "I'm gonna go get ready."

"I'm right behind you," I tell her as we both head upstairs.

I pick out my clothes, jump in the shower, wash, get out and get ready. I pull on my jeans and t-shirt and then throw my hair up into a pony tail. I head back into my closet, looking for my white chucks, and realize they are in our bedroom. As I turn the handle to the bedroom I'm surprised that the door is still locked. Instead of finding the skeleton key to get into our bedroom I opt for a pair of Adidas running shoes.

When I make it downstairs I see Rosalie shifting uneasily on the couch in the Family room. "You about ready, Rose?"

"Yup, just waiting on you," she answers with a smile.

"Where'd Jasper and Alice go?"

"I think they're upstairs," she says with a wink.

"Uggg… TMI…" I shake my head not really needing to know that my brother is upstairs fooling around with his wife… who just happens to be one of my very best friends.

"Let's get out of here," I smile as I grab my purse, my cell phone and my keys.

Rose stood up to follow and I am surprised to see her hair pulled back into a pony tail and she's wearing a jeans and t-shirt combo very similar to mine; the only difference being that she is wearing flip-flops.

We take the stairs down to the garage and I am slightly taken aback to see Edward's Volvo still sitting in its' spot in the garage. I consider taking his car, but then decide against it. As much as I want to feel close to him, I think his scent would overwhelm me right now and I just want to get through the debriefing with as little drama as possible.

I walk over and climb into the Chevy Tahoe Edward insisted we needed.

"When did you get this?" Rose asks as she opens the passenger door.

"Edward never liked my old truck. And when I came back here with him, I let him convince me not have the truck shipped out. I need a vehicle so we decided on this."

"Oh," she smirked.

"What?" I ask wanting to know what my friend is finding s amusing.

"You," she simply states.

"What about me?" I ask trying not to be annoyed as we drive out of the garage.

"You've changed a bit. _That's all_."

"What are you trying to say, Rose?"

"Nothing, really," she shakes her head and tilts her head so she's looking at me, but no really facing me. "You never let Jake buy you _anything_. And Edward bought you a house and a car and you seem just fine with that."

I am immediately annoyed with my best friend. "What the hell?" I snap. "What are you _getting at?_ And you better make it good, because you're really pissing me off right now."

"Don't get pissy with me," she laughs at my attitude, "All I'm saying is that you never liked being given _anything_ before. So what's changed?"

"You're seriously asking me _what has changed, RIGHT NOW_? Gee, Rose, I moved all the way across the country to be with a man that _I _left. I love him so much that I am willing to give up the life I had made for myself to be here in a life that, in the past, had made me miserable. Edward went out and bought me _OUR_ dream house in _OUR_ dream location, _BEFORE_ he knew I would come back with him. _HE _took a huge gamble buying _OUR_ house. The least I can do is accept it for the amazing gift that it is. And as far as the Tahoe goes … I make the payments. Edward could have bought it outright, but when I explained to him that was important to me to pay for it _HE_ agreed. Not because it was the best financial thing to do, but because _HE_ knew it was something I just needed to do."

So, you ask what has changed. I guess it would it be the fact that I'm not willing to fight it any more. I love him, he loves me. Edward and I both know if we are going to make it there are things we have to change and some things we simply just have to accept. AND THAT'S ALL THERE IS TO IT."

I'm gripping the steering wheel so hard that my knuckles are white and I think I've rendered Rose speechless. We have made it onto the Base in record time and I pull in a parking spot in front of the hangar and I continue glaring out the windshield toward the building.

"Bella," Rosalie begins meekly, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you mad."

"Mmhmm," I mumble, refusing to look at her.

"Will you look at me, please," Rose whispers.

I slowly turn my head to look over at my friend. "Bella, I am sorry. I love you and I am glad you are happy with Edward. I didn't mean for you to take it the way you did. I'm really, really sorry."

"You know what Rose, just forget it," I say under my breath. "I need to go inside. I will be back in a minute."

"Bells…" Rose begins, but I'm already out of the car and shutting the door behind me.

I walk into the hangar and I immediately see Kate standing off to the right talking to Master-chief Hagan. Kate is the Ombudsman for two of the four SEAL teams in San Diego. Basically, she works with the Master-chief and Navy wives/spouses to coordinate information and events. She is the lifeline between the two groups.

Kate sees me out of the corner of her eye and waves and points to the conference room on the left of me. I nod and head into the room. I'm not surprised to see Jessica Newton sitting up near the head of the table. Jessica is married to Mike, one of Edward's enlisted SEALs. Jess is a sweet enough girl, a little flighty sometimes, but who can blame her in this situation.

"Hey Jessica," I sigh as I take a seat next to her.

"Hi Bella," she looks up and smiles at me and I notice that her eyes are bloodshot and swollen. Her curly brown hair is pulled back into a bun at the top of her head. And she is wearing sweats and a baggy t-shirt.

"You ok?" I ask her.

"Yeah, I'm ok. I didn't sleep very well last night. Have you heard anything?" she asks.

"No, I haven't. I guess that's why we're here."

I hear some shuffling off to the side and look up t see Victoria walking in behind Kate. Kate is smiling at me and Victoria is frowning. Victoria is a strikingly beautiful woman with a pale complexion, bright blue eyes and vibrant, curly red hair. Victoria is engaged to James who is the Leading Petty Officer of the Platoon. Edward had told me at one point there was strong rivalry between the two men, but since their last mission things had settled down between them.

I like Victoria. She is a little slow to warm up to people, but she has always been straight-forward and honest with me. And I respect that.

Kate took the seat directly across from Jessica while Victoria sat across from me.

"Hi Bella," Victoria smiled slightly.

"Hey Victoria," I smiled back, "How's it going?"

"In spite of the obvious," she laughed, "not too bad."

"Have you two set a date yet?" I ask politely.

"Yeah, we are shooting for next Fourth of July."

"You will have fireworks every anniversary," I can't help but smile and wink. She, Kate and Jessica all laugh and snicker.

We are interrupted by another group of ladies who enter the room. Bree, a petite blonde, Maggie, a petite brunette and Claire, a slightly taller blonde, walk in together. Bree and Claire's expressions are unsure and serious. It is easy to see that they are not sure what to expect.

Bree's husband, Riley, just made the SEALs a month ago and they moved their family to San Diego shortly after his appointment. Bree and Riley have twin-three year old girls, Makenna and Madison. I haven't really had a chance to get to know Bree, but she seems nice. Bree sits down next to me and smiles while whispering a "hi".

Maggie is an adorable little brunette who is just a tad shorter than me. Maggie and her husband Seth are great people. They have been married for a few years and always seem genuinely happy to be around one another. Edward and I have had them over for dinner and after having such a good time with them we had planned on getting together again. It just never panned out. Edward really likes Seth and is hoping to get him moved up in the ranks as fast as he can. Before Maggie takes her seat next to Bree, she notices me and her face lights up, "Hey Bella," she smiles.

"Hey Maggie," I smile back, "how have you been?"

"Good." Maggie's been doing this for a3 years now and she's a pro, "let's get together for lunch," she states sweetly.

"Absolutely," I nod, "I have some friends I would like you to meet."

"Let's do it this week," she's still smiling.

"I'm working this week." I think for a second, "How about this Saturday?"

"Sounds good. Call me and we'll work out the details."

"Ok," I smile.

I look past Maggie and see Claire, a plain looking blonde, staring at me. "Hi, Claire," I offer.

"Hi," is all she mumbles in reply.

Claire has always been very quiet and I honestly haven't really had a chance to get to know her and I am really not sure who she is with.

One of the unfortunate things about Navy life is the division between officers and enlisted men, which of course bleeds over into the wives. I always tried to be nice to everyone and that's probably why I had problems with some of the other officer's wives.

Master-chief Hagan enters the room and comes to stand at the head of the table. He looks down at Kate, "is this everyone?" he asks.

Kate does a quick head count and nods, "I think so. There are a couple of ladies who are missing, but I am sure if they're not here by now they are not coming."

"Ok," Master-chief clears his throat, "Thanks for coming in today, Ladies. I'm sorry your weekend has been ruined. But, you know as well as I do there's absolutely nothing we can do about it."

We all nod and smile knowing it's the truth.

"Here are the facts that I can give you: The Platoon is out indefinitely. They are currently in a position of support and they will be allowed some type of communication once they have settled in. However, their situation is fluid and as all of you know it can change in an instant. If there is an emergency please contact Kate so that she can take the appropriate steps to get you the necessary support you may need." Master-chief pauses for a moment and looks around at all of our somber faces, "I'm sorry, Ladies, but that's all I have for you." We all groan in unison. "Do you have any questions?"

We all know there is no point in asking any because he has already given us all the information he is allowed to. He pauses and makes eye contact with each of us, "Thank you, Ladies. Try to enjoy what's left of your weekend." He nods and turns on his heel and leaves the room.

We are quiet for a second, until Kate pipes up with a "Gee that was fun." Most of us smile at her attempt at levity, but the rest of us are scared to death. I'd say the room is split pretty even.

"Well, if you ladies need _anything_, please call me… It's what I'm here for," Kate offers empathetically. "Does anyone have any questions for me?" she asks.

Everyone's quiet for a little bit and then Kate continues, "All right then. I will be in touch via e-mail about this months' social." She stands, "and if you need me, call me."

Everyone takes the hint and begins getting up and leaving the room pretty much the way they came in. The only exception is that I stay behind and wait for Kate as Jessica passes us by. Victoria is standing next to her and I can't help but offer, "Victoria? Kate, myself and I family friend are going to Miguel's Cocina for lunch. Do you want to come?"

She thinks about it for a second and then agrees, "Yeah, I think I will."

"Great," I smile. "I'm gonna go on ahead and get us a table."

Kate and Victoria both nod and Kate says, "We'll meet you there."

I head outside and immediately see a nervous looking Rosalie in the passenger seat of my Tahoe. She smiles when she sees me walking to the driver's door. I get in and before I can even take my seat I'm met with an impatient, "Well?"

"Well," I begin, "All we know is that they might be able to communicate with us when and if they actually get to settle in."

"That's IT?" she asks harshly.

"Yep. Their 'situation' (I make air quotations) is 'fluid', which means that it can change at any given moment. They are gone indefinitely and we have no idea where in the hell they are."

"Fuck," Rose spits.

I start the SUV and back out. "I know it fucking sucks, but it's what I expected."

Rose just shakes her head. "You know I'm sorry, right?"

"I know," I sigh, "let's just let it go." Rose nods in agreement.

As we leave the Base and get closer to the house, Rose notices that we have turned a different direction. "Where are we going?" she asks.

"We are going to lunch with Kate and Victoria. You still up for it?"

Rose nods, "What kind of restaurant is it?"

"We're meeting them at Miguel's Cocina. It's Mexican. And it's absolutely yummy."

"Ok, that sounds good," Rose answers.

Rose is quiet as we pull into the parking lot and I am beginning to worry about her. "You ok, Rose?"

"Yeah, I guess so," she sighs.

"What's wrong?" I ask. "You can tell me. It's ok."

Rose looks out the window and then back to me. "I guess I'm just worried about the guys and I'm really disappointed we didn't get more information today."

"I am worried, too," I confide to my friend, "and I should have told you what to expect out of today. If there was something to tell us, they would have told us last night." I look around the parking lot and realize the lot is very full and we need to get inside and put our names on the list, "Let's go inside and talk," I suggest.

"Oh, ok," she agrees as begins to get out of the Tahoe.

We walk inside and put or names on the list. I notice that there are only a few ahead of us and I'm relieved that we won't have to wait for very long.

"Hey, Rosalie, you up for a cocktail?" I ask as I nod my head towards the bar.

"Sure," she smiles, "I could use a Margarita."

We easily find a seat at the bar and I quickly order two 'Billionaire Margarita's'.

"You're going to love these," I say to Rosalie, "they are so delicious."

Rose smiles but I can still see the worry etched across her face, "How do you do this?" she questions.

"First, you have to know that it is ok that you're not sitting at home pining away. Edward doesn't want me to make myself sick with worry. He wants me to function. He wants me to be happy. Second, just because you're functioning doesn't mean you don't miss him or that you don't love him."

The bartender sets our drinks down in front of us and we both offer him a "thank you".

"It just takes time, Rose. That's all." I want to encourage her, but she has to come to these conclusions on her own. I hope she's willing to at least give it a shot because I think her and Emmett are perfect for one another.

I take a sip of my drink, but before I can tell her exactly what I think, I am interrupted by a very nasally and equally annoying, "Drinking already, Bel-LA?"

I know it's Tanya and I so do not want to turn around and deal with her obnoxious little pea-brain. I wonder if I ignore her if she will just go away. Instead, I take a deep breath and turn to face the crazy that I am sure is waiting for me. "Hi Tanya," I force a smile and see Eric peering down over her left shoulder at me, "Hi Eric." He nods and Tanya momentarily looks dazed. "Are you guys here for lunch?" I ask sweetly… trying to kill her with kindness.

"We were just leaving," Tanya snaps. Tanya's face is beginning to redden and I can tell that I am _somehow_ making her angry.

"Oh, well, enjoy the rest of your weekend," I suggest.

Tanya squares her shoulders towards me, "I can't believe YOU," she practically shouts at me. "I can't believe that you are here drinking considering _everything_."

I can't help but laugh. Tanya is simply becoming the most absurd person I have ever met. "Alright Tanya... why don't you just run along." I turn my back to her and shake my head.

I hear what I think is Tanya walking away from me very quickly, as Rose asks, "What is the hell was that?"

"I have no fucking clue," I laugh. Rose joins me.

The next thing I know I feel somebody grab my pony-tail and I am pulled backwards off of my chair and slammed onto the ground, knocking the wind clean out of me. And before I can figure out what in the hell has happened I hear Tanya screeching, "ERIC LET ME FUCKING GO! SHE DESERVES IT! SHE DOESN'T LOVE HIM!"

I roll onto my side in time to see Eric restraining Tanya and literally pulling her outside of the restaurant. Rose kneels down next to me and asks, "Are you ok?

I nod because I am speechless. I can't believe what just happened. This is ridiculous.

Rose takes my hand and helps me to my feet. "Do you want to get out of here?" she asks.

I nod again, this time I realize that this has happened in front of a restaurant full of people and I am mortified.

Rose turns to pay the Bartender, but he refuses telling her it's on the house. She helps me gather my purse and keys and leads me outside. When we reach the front doors we run into Kate and Victoria. Kate looking confused and asks, "What in the hell happened?"

All I can do is shake my head. Rose immediately steps up to my defense. "Your psycho of a sister decided to give Bella a ration of shit for having a Margarita while Edward is away. And when Bella acted like an adult by not stooping to Tanya's level, Tanya grabbed Bella by her fucking pony tail and slammed her to the ground from her fucking bar-stool!"

Victoria and Kate both gasp. Victoria asks, "Are you alright, Bella?"

"Yes," I reply.

"I'm sorry," Kate whispers. She looks at me and she's visibly upset, "Bella… you need to press charges and get a restraining order."

"What?" I ask.

"You need to protect yourself," her expression is completely serious and suddenly I am more scared now than I was five minutes ago. "She's dangerous, Bella. And the last time I saw her like this she ended up committed."

I wasn't sure what to say. I didn't understand why I was just now learning that the crazy woman who was obsessed with my boyfriend is _REALLY_ crazy.

Oh hell!

**.**

**.**

**.**

**a/n: thanks for reading... please show**** me some love and let me know what you think... I promise B&E won't be apart for too much longer...**

**r/l has been crazy between kids stuff, my Mom visiting and a holiday that allowed my husband to stay home and bug the crap out of me. Sorry it's a day late, but I'm thinkin' that Tuesday will become my update day... **


	9. Chapter 9 Part 1

**I do not own Twilight, but I do love it so...**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**a/n: sorry I'm late... I will explain more at the bottom... happy reading...**

The last week has been absolutely crazy.

Last Saturday, after and already stressful morning, Tanya attacked me at Miguel's. And, after following Kate's advice, I agreed to file for a restraining order… and after much debate I also agreed to press charges against Tanya.

The manager of the restaurant, a woman named Maria, had called 911 immediately after Tanya was pulled out of the building by Eric. Maria is a little Hispanic woman who reminded me of my Grandma Swan, refused to let me leave until I could be checked out by the EMT's. I wanted to leave and just go home, but Kate, Victoria and Rosalie all agreed that I should let them check me out and if the police came I should press charges.

I thought I could placate my friends by saying _if the police came_, but of course a police car pulled into the parking lot before the ambulance even arrived. The police officer parked next to the building and then made his way over to our huddle. First he talked to Maria and then he walked over to the rest of us asking for "Miss Swan?" I stepped forward as he introduced himself as "Officer Johnson". Officer Johnson had to be about six feet tall and had a pleasant look about him. I followed him over to a table sitting on the restaurant's patio. He asked me what had happened and I explained. He asked me if I had any past incidents with Mrs. Yorkie and I explained further. He asked me if I would like to press charges and when I hesitated to reply, he gently explained that the problems seemed to escalating and that I needed to protect myself. I just nodded and said, "Ok," and proceeded to fill out the necessary paperwork.

I hadn't realized that the ambulance had arrived until an EMT startled me by placing his hand on my shoulder while I was filling out the police report. He quickly took my vital statistics and once he realized that they were normal he felt around the back of my head. He noted a sizable bump on the back of my head where I had hit the floor. He told me that everything looked fine, take Tylenol for pain and if I felt dizzy or if I ended up with a persistent head-ache then I should go to the emergency room and get a CT-scan. I just nodded as he explained, filled out his paperwork and handed a copy to myself and Officer Johnson. And then he disappeared as quickly as he came. He grabbed his bag, climbed back into the ambulance and left without another word.

I finished filling out my paper work for Officer Johnson and then he explained to me that I needed t go to the Court House to fill out the forms to file the restraining order on Monday. He handed me a copy of my police report and his card while telling me that if anymore problems arise with "Mrs. Yorkie" to make sure that I immediately call 911. He asked if there is anyone that can drive me home and I nod. I heard him say something else, but I didn't really pay attention to what he was talking about.

I closed my eyes for a moment and rested my head in the palms of my hands, while my elbows were set on my knees. I'm stunned. I'm not sure how any of this had happened and I felt like it was all completely ridiculous and out of control. And I just didn't see any of it getting any better no matter what I decided to do.

I felt someone's hand come to rest on my back and I wasn't really surprised to see Rosalie sweetly smiling down at me.

"You ready to go?" she asked in a hushed voice.

I nodded, again, still not able to find _any_ words.

"Come on, sweetie," she offered me her hand and I took it and let her lead me to my SUV.

Kate and Victoria were waiting for us next to the Tahoe. Kate told us that she would take Victoria back to her car and then come by the house to check on me. I gave her a weak smile and a nod and she gave me hug. Victoria told me to call her if I needed anything and I managed to reply a meager, "ok."

Rose took my keys and we climbed into the Tahoe. I didn't think twice about letting her drive. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back into the head-rest. I felt so numb that I almost forgot that I had to give her directions back to the house. Luckily, Rose had paid close enough attention to get us back to the house without _really_ needing my help. I opened my eyes when she pulled into the garage and then I slowly eased my way out when she put the Tahoe in park. I walked over to the go inside without waiting for Rose and as I reached to grab the door-knob the door flung open and Jasper was standing in front of me looking angrier than I had ever seen him.

He was asking me something. I could see his lips moving, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. I took a step forward and wrapped my arms around my brothers' waist and instantly started sobbing into his chest.

It all hit me like a ton of emotional bricks when I saw Jasper.

I missed Edward. I wished he was here. If he were here none of this would have happened. I hoped he was safe. I was scared as hell that he wasn't. I loved him so much and right then I needed him more than I ever thought I would. Why in the hell was Tanya doing this to me? I really couldn't wrap my mind around why she would attack me.

Jasper lifted me up and cradled me in his arms and carried me to the elevator. I wrapped my arms around his neck while I continued sobbing into his neck. I could hear Jasper trying to comfort me, but it just wasn't going to work right now.

He and Alice were talking about something and then I heard her ask, "Bella, where's the key for your bedroom?"

"On top of the door frame," I whimpered, still not able to calm down.

We entered the bedroom and Jasper tried to set me down on the bed, but I wouldn't let go of his neck. "Bella, let go please," he whispered into my ear and after a moment, I finally complied. I looked up into my brothers' blue eyes and found them filled with tears and saw worry etched into his face. "You need to rest, ok?"

I glanced over to the door and found Rosalie and Alice standing there with the same disappointed expressions on their faces. "I'm sorry," I squeaked and quickly rolled onto my side away from their prying eyes.

Alice was next to me in a heart-beat telling me I had done nothing to be sorry for and that I couldn't control "crazy mother-fucking, bitches".

I wanted to laugh when she said that, but it just wouldn't come out. She sat down on the bed right behind me and tried to console me. She finally asked me if there was anything I wanted and I asked if they could just leave me alone for a little while. She said ok and I heard the three of them quietly shuffle out of the room. Rose came back a second later with a glass of water and an Ambien. "Take this and rest, honey," she ordered and I complied, taking the pill and drinking down the entire glass of water.

I toed off my shoes and wiggled out of my jeans, never leaving my bed. I rolled back onto my side and grabbed Edwards' pillow, pulling it to my face. His delicious masculine scent filled me up and my throat began to tighten and my already aching heart began to hurt to the point where I just couldn't take a breath. Sobs began to rack my body again and I found myself gasping for breath.

My train of thought spiraled into how much I missed Edward. How much I needed Edward. If he was here right now, I'd be ok. I wanted him home. I needed him to be home. The thoughts continued until I fell asleep, where I dreamt of Edward in my bed holding me to him telling me that it would all be ok.

When I woke up, I found Rose staring at me from the chair sitting in the corner of the room. "Hey," she said softly.

"Hi," I answered as I stretched my arms out over my head. "What time is it I asked?" I sat up and immediately felt the overwhelming urge to go to the bathroom.

"Its' 10:00," she answered.

"It's Sunday?" I asked, disbelieving that I had slept for almost an entire day.

Rose nodded and I got up out of bed, "I'm gonna jump in the shower and then I'll be right down."

"Ok," she said. "Bella?" she asked and I turned to face her. "Yesterday was a fucked up day," I nodded in agreement, "I'm glad you're doing better right now. But we ALL really need to talk about what happened yesterday."

My chest is heavy, because I know that conversation will be hard. So, I simply nod again and headed to the shower. I started the shower and decided to brush my teeth while the water warmed up. When I caught I glimpse of myself in the mirror I was surprised to see that I looked ok. I looked rested. There weren't bags or tell-tale dark circles under my eyes and my hair was still mostly in its' pony-tail. I pulled my hair down and stepped under the warm spray of the shower.

The water felt delicious and it was easy to focus on getting clean, instead of the prior day's events. After washing and shaving, I lingered in the shower enjoying the steady pressure and perfect temperature of the water. In a moment of weakness, thoughts of Edward invaded my solace. Once again, over-whelmed I crumbled to the cool slate floor of the shower in a sobbing mess.

As I cried, thoughts kept swirling and spiraling in my mind: From only missing him to the overwhelming need to feel his touch… to see his sparkling green eyes… to have him kiss me gently… to have him here with me in _OUR_ home.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I realized that Edward wouldn't want me to be hurt like this. That how I was acting would break his heart.

And then I managed to pull myself up off the floor and began to try and work my way back to where my mind needed to be. I stood there in the water, knowing that I had to focus on the next task at hand…

Get out of the shower: check

Get dressed: check

Go downstairs: check

Once I made it downstairs, I found Rosalie sitting in the Family Room flipping channels on the TV while Alice and Jasper were sitting out in the courtyard talking. Initially, I wanted to assume that they were talking about me, but I quickly banished that thought from my head.

I made myself a cup of coffee and some cinnamon toast and then headed out to the courtyard. "Hey guys," I smiled as I set down my coffee on the iron and slate table. I sat down in one of the four comfy wicker chairs that surrounded the table.

"Bella," Alice chimed in her oh so perky and happy to see you voice, "I didn't know you were up!" She smiled widely at me.

"Mornin' Sis," Jasper smiled, but he looked at me carefully. As if we was looking me over for cracks.

"Mornin' to you, Chief," I ribbed him. Letting him know just how much he was reminding me of our Dad and his 'I'm-going-to-stare-at-you-until-you- crack' face.

Jasper shifted uncomfortably in his seat and glanced over at Alice who gave him look that made him immediately look down at the book in his hands.

I couldn't help but smile at my best-friend for silently putting my brother in his place. She gave me a wink and a nod and smiled back at me.

I pulled my legs up to my chest and snuggled back into my chair with a piece of toast in one hand and my coffee in the other. There was a light breeze swirling around the courtyard mixing the salty ocean air with the heady scent of the lavender that we had planted when Esme had come to visit.

Esme had quickly worked her magic on the courtyard while she had visited: Taking it from a huge, rectangular cement pad, to a cozy, beautiful space that Edward and I used almost daily. Esme split the large area into two smaller areas. She used custom made teak planters filled with Jasmine, Lavender and bright yellow Seedum to make two almost rooms. The Jasmine was strung up on lattice walls that were placed within the planters creating six foot tall screen between the areas.

The area we used the most has and outdoor kitchen (complete with gas grille, sink, dishwasher and refrigerator) and of course had our table and chairs. Edward and I have our breakfast there almost every morning. As much as we loved to sit out front and watch the sunset in the evening, we loved the open aired privacy that the courtyard provided us in the morning.

In the second half, Esme had a fire-pit set down into the concrete and had two arched couches made to fit most of the way around the pit. The couches had a dark brown wicker base with light blue, paisley print cushions. They were very comfy, but Edward and I really hadn't gotten the opportunity to use the fire pit. We were planning on using the night of the barbeque, but it just didn't happen.

Esme had the concrete stained a subtle beige that complimented the color of the house and then used a darker stain to echo the shapes of the areas she had created. She also used the darker stain to create the illusion of a tile floor within the outline she had designed.

I already loved the courtyard, but I really couldn't wait until the Jasmine filled the lattice work and the rest of the plants had grown to their potential. Eventually we will put a water feature off the courtyard and make another sitting area around it. At least that's what Esme has planned.

I took another sip of my coffee and then asked, "Do you guys have anything planned for the day?"

"Nope," Alice answered quickly.

"I thought we could go to the beach for a little while," Jasper offered.

"That sounds good," I smiled. "I need to finish grading some papers, but I can do that later."

As if on cue, Rose came out into the patio and took the remaining seat to my left. "We doing the beach soon?" she asked.

Alice and Jasper nodded. "Yeah… but I think we should talk about the elephant in the room before we do anything else," I suggested and my friends simultaneously let out a deep sigh of relief.

Before they could ask me any questions I began to explain.

"I really want to thank you guys for being strong for me yesterday. I think that everything that happened with Tanya threw me for a loop." I pause knowing that the next part of the conversation was going to be much more difficult.

"Are you going to file a restraining order?" Jasper asked. His face was hard and I could tell it was something that he really wanted me to do.

"Yes," I replied quietly, "I think she's one big bag of crazy and she's only going to get worse."

"Good," Rosalie barked, "Bella, if Eric wouldn't have carried her crazy-ass out of that restaurant before I could get my hands on her," she shook her head and then began with her best ghetto voice, "I would have fucked her shit up."

We all laughed at Rose's silliness. But I knew that Rose would have kicked Tanya's ass if she could have gotten her hands on her.

"I know, Rose," I smiled at her, "I think I need to apologize to you guys for shutting down on you the way I did. After Tanya attacked me, I couldn't say _anything_. My mind was blank. And then when I saw you, Jasper," I looked at my brother, "I was flooded with loss." I took a second and took a deep breath, "I went from numb to over-loaded in a moment."

"How are you feeling now?" Alice asked.

"Better… I am trying to focus on the moment and not Edward being gone, not Tanya being crazy. I have to get back to putting one foot in front of the other and getting through _this_," I hoped I was reassuring them that I was handling things the right way.

"You scared me yesterday," Rose whispered, staring blankly towards the house, "We had that fight, and then after Tanya, you barely said _anything_ and I didn't know what to think."

"I'm sorry, Rose. I don't know why I reacted that way. It was all so surreal and I couldn't believe that it was happening to ME."

"You sure you're ok?" she asked.

I looked over and could see how concerned she was. "Yeah, I'm ok," I smiled, "not perfect, but I think I will make it." I reached over and pushed her chair with my foot and she startled. "You guys ready to get to the beach?"

They nodded and we ended up spending the next few hours walking down the beach, past the Hotel del Coronado, where we eventually found some tide pools. It was a nice peaceful morning and afternoon and it felt good to be out of the house with my family and friends not worrying about anything, but the next seashell.

The rest of the day was uneventful. We came home, ate lunch and then I graded papers. I snuck in a catnap before Jasper came and woke me for dinner. On the way downstairs, he informed me that he would be going with me to file the restraining order on Monday. I think that would have made me angry a few months ago, but after what had happened I was relieved to have someone with me.

We had dinner and eventually we all crashed on the couch to watch some TV. I really wasn't interested so I excused myself and went up to bed. I undressed and put on one of Edward's t-shirts and then crawled into bed.

Our bed smelled of Edward, making me miss him. I wrapped myself around his pillow and fell asleep hoping I would hear from him soon.

When I woke up Monday I really looked forward to going to work. When I moved back to San Diego, I easily obtained another High School teaching position, teaching Eleventh grade honors English, which really was a piece of cake.

I made it to school early so I could finish grading papers for first period and was enjoying the hum of the students passing through the halls when a large thud outside my classroom startled me. I quickly opened my door to see what was happening when I was met by two fairly large young men who were very obviously fighting with one another.

Before I could say a word the pair had spun each other around and slammed into the wall directly across from me. I spun around and dashed back into my room to call the principal and then immediately headed back to stand in the doorway. Both of the boys were bigger than me and I knew there was no way that I would be able to break them apart.

I looked down the hall and could see a couple of male teachers making their way through the students that had gathered to watch the fight. And before I could completely turn my attention back to the fighting I was blind-sided by two large bodies slamming against me. The three of us immediately hit the floor, with me being on the bottom of the pile. My head had been slammed back into the floor and I tried to pry myself out from under the sprawling mess of boy that _still_ managed to continue fighting as they laid on top of me. Before I could use my legs as leverage to get away I felt a sharp pain in my side. It felt like one of the boys had accidentally hit me instead of their foe. As I tried to curl up into a ball to protect myself, the male teachers, Mr. Gonzales and Mr. Roberts, finally made it to my classroom and pulled the pair apart and off of me.

I looked up to see both men holding back the students and Principal Davis staring down at me with a shocked, wide-eyed, gaping mouth expression on his face.

"Miss Swan, are you ok?" he asked. He was immediately on his knees beside me telling me to be still. When I didn't answer the Mr. Davis immediately made a call on his walkie-talkie to the front office yelling at them to call 911 and that I had been hurt.

I laid there on the floor trying not to cry, wondering what in the hell I had ever done to deserve this.

When the boys involved in the fight realized they had incidentally hurt me in the midst of their skirmish the both began to apologize profusely and saying they hadn't meant for me to get hurt. I just looked at them and nodded. I didn't recognize either one of them and really just wanted them the hell out of my classroom.

Mrs. Cope, the Vice-Principal came to kneel beside me, "Do want me to call Edward?" she asked quietly. She gently moved my hair from my face.

I shook my head no. "He's gone. Call my brother, Jasper. He's at the house," I whispered because I felt like I would cry if I spoke out loud.

Mrs. Cope just nodded and patted my hand. When I was hired Mrs. Cope had shown me around the school and we had gotten along so well that we went to lunch that day. And when I found out that she was married to an ex-Navy SEAL I immediately began peppering her with questions about how they made it work. I told her about me and Edward and she offered to help me anyway she could. I hadn't had the chance to tell her about my weekend. So, she had no idea that Edward was gone.

I moved to sit up and Mrs. Cope urged me to stay still until the ambulance arrived. "You've got to be kidding me," I sighed.

"What?" she asked. I told her about the run-in with Tanya and Mrs. Cope chuckled quietly, "Geez, Bella, maybe you should have just stayed home today."

"Ya think?" I asked sarcastically. I closed my eyes and just tried to relax. The back of my head was killing me as was the left side of my abdomen.

I could hear the shuffling of shoes on the floor around me and opened my eyes to see two EMT's standing over me. They began asking the normal questions: name, age, what year it was, my date of birth. During my cognitive assessment the second EMT took my pulse and blood pressure, checked the dilation of my eyes. The first EMT asked me where I hurt and I told him my head and my side. He poked and prodded me for a minute, assessing my pain. I winced when he pushed on my side.

"Miss Swan," he began, "I think we need to take you to the ER to get checked out."

"No," I whined. I really didn't want to go. "I just want to go home. Please let me go home," I begged.

"I'm sorry," he sighed, "my partner went to get the stretcher and we are going to take you in."

"Can I sit up?" I asked.

He nodded and offered me his hand, "move slowly, ok," he insisted.

I sat up slowly and took in the scene around me. The desks in my room had been strewn about and there was paper everywhere. Mrs. Cope came to kneel next to me, while Mr. Davis was talking to a pair of uniformed police officers. One of the officers looked over at me, nodded to Mr. Davis and then walked over to kneel down to talk to me.

"Miss Swan?"

"Yes."

"Would you like to press charges?" he asked.

"It was an accident," I sighed, "they didn't mean to hurt me."

"But they did. Accident or not, they were fighting and it's their fault you're hurt."

"No," I started to shake my head, but the pain was enough to make me stop, "those boys are in enough trouble without me pressing charges."

"You're being too nice," the officer replied and stood up to walk away.

I just didn't see the point in making things worse for the boys. They were already going to be suspended for at least three days and probably more because they hurt me. I hadn't recognized either of the boys as boys that are consistently in trouble. But, I do think that they should be held responsible in _some_ way for accidentally hurting me.

I turned to ask Mrs. Cope what would be the boys' punishment. She said that they were going to be suspended for a week.

"That's all?" I asked.

She nodded, "There's not much else we can do?"

"What about letting me have them for a month? I'm thinking one before school and one after school and then we can alternate weeks." I suggested.

Mrs. Cope smiled, "What are you going to have them do?"

"The norm… clean gum out from under the desks, clean the boards, take out the trash, sweep, if they're lucky, I might let them grade some papers."

"I think that sounds like great idea," she smiles, "I need to run it by Mr. Davis, but I think he will be just fine with that." Mrs. Cope looks towards the door and then back at me, "Is that your brother?" she nodded towards the door.

I turned slowly to see Jasper standing next to the stretcher by my door. He looks very worried. His hair was a mess and he's still in his pajamas. I am pretty sure the phone call must have woken him up. He looked over at me and offered a weak smile and then walked over to us.

"Yeah, that's my brother, Jasper."

Jasper came and sat next to me on the floor and put his arm around me. "You ok?" he asked quietly.

"I think so," I whispered as I leaned into his shoulder, "they want to take me to the hospital."

"That's probably a good idea after the last couple of days," he sighed and kissed the top of my head.

"Yeah, I guess," I conceded. I know there is no point in fighting it and it would really be kind of stupid to _not_ go after what had just happened.

The second EMT wheeled the stretcher in front of me and lowered it completely to the ground. "You ready Miss Swan?" he asked.

"Sure.

Jasper eased out of the way and let the EMT's gently guide me onto the stretcher. They strapped me in and then slowly raised it back up.

"Can I ride in the ambulance?" Jasper asked.

"You're family, right?" EMT one asked.

"Yes, he's my brother," I answered before Jasper had the chance to.

"That's fine," the EMT answered, as they began to wheel me out of my classroom and down the hall.

Jasper walked next to me and I wondered where Alice and Rose were. "Where are the girls?" I asked.

"Al is in the car and we left Rose sleeping at the house."

"She's gonna be pissed," I smiled and my brother.

"Yeah, I will deal with her later," he reached up and took my hand and then gave it a gentle squeeze, "getting to you was more important than making sure Rose is ok that we were leaving."

Once we made it outside Alice met us by the ambulance. Her eyes were red and puffy and I could see that he cheeks had been streaked by tears. "Are you ok?" she cried failing to keep the tears at bay.

"Yeah, Al, I'm ok." I tried to reassure her.

"Then why…"

Jasper cut her off, "they are just going to run some tests to make sure she's ok."

Alice looked up at Jasper, "You're going with her?" she asked.

He nodded and kissed her sweetly on the lips, "follow us, ok?" Alice nodded, "Love you guys," she said as she turned to head to the car.

Jasper and I both told her we loved her as I was loaded into the back of the ambulance.

The rest of the morning I spent in the Emergency Room at Sharp Hospital. I had a CT-scan that came back clear. My ribs were x-rayed and they were fine, just bruised. I didn't have a concussion, but I was encouraged to take a few days off until the back of my head no longer hurt and I could breathe without pain.

Alice eventually went and picked up Rose. The three of them took turns sitting with me in between tests. Rose ended up not being too annoyed with Jasper. But, I had a feeling that she tried to give him attitude and he quickly put her in her place.

Once we were on our way home Jasper admitted to me that he called our parent to let them know what had happened. Mom wanted to come out, but Jasper talked her out of it. Renee was satisfied with my Jasper, Alice and Rose all agreeing to take care of me. When I asked about Dad, Jasper hedged around what _exactly_ he told him.

"What did you tell Dad?" I asked trying really hard not to raise voice, considering how bad it hurt my head.

Jasper was quiet for a minute and then he finally admitted that he told him _everything_. He told Dad about Edward being gone, about Tanya attacking me, me freaking out and the fight at school.

"Dad's adamant that you press charges and file a restraining order against Tanya," Jasper threw at me, "he understands why you're not willing to press charges on the kids. But the Tanya thing just pisses him off, Bells."

"Dammit, Jasper," I groaned, "I AM pressing charges against Tanya and I AM going to file a restraining order against her, too. Now, you have Dad all hot and bothered about it."

"It's not that bad, Bells," he laughs.

"Right," I said not believing that for a minute. "Did Dad want to _call _someone he 'knows' or is he just gonna come on out at 'take care' of it?"

Jasper just shakes his head, "You're over-reacting."

"DID HE SAY IT, JAZZ?"

"He said something like that," Jasper finally admitted, "But, he calmed down after I explained what you were planning on doing as far as filing the restraining order."

"You know what Jasper?" I asked my brother.

"What?" he replied.

"You really suck." I knew he was being the 'good son' by calling our parents and letting them know what was happening with me, but at least he could learn to edit some of the finer details.

Once we got home, Alice tried to usher me upstairs to my bedroom. But, I refused and went and laid down on the couch in the Family Room.

"Don't start being stubborn again," Alice muttered as she walked past me into the kitchen making me laugh out loud.

"Sorry, Al," I looked over at her, "I just don't want to go up there right now."

"No worries," she smiled over at me, "You hungry?"

"Yeah, I could eat."

Alice proceeded to make some tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, knowing that it is my favorite comfort food. She brought the food over to me and urged me to take a nap when I was finished eating.

She sat down on the other couch and turned on the TV. I asked where Jasper and Rosalie were. She informed me that they went grocery shopping and then they would be back later. We began watching a game-show that didn't hold my interest and I quickly fell asleep.

When I woke up I could hear Jasper and Alice laughing in the kitchen. I slowly sat up and gasped in pain as I stretched my arms up over my head.

"You ok?" Rose asked, startling me.

"I didn't see you there," I smiled as I looked over at her all curled up in a blanket on the other couch. "I'm fine, just a little sore," I answered.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"I know." Rosalie didn't look happy. "You alright, Rosie?" I asked using her least favorite nickname.

"I'm alright. I'm just worried about _you_," she says pointedly. I stood up and took a couple of steps and plopped down on the couch next to her.

"I'm gonna be ok, I promise," I said as I rested my head on her shoulder.

"It's just been so crazy since I got here," she sighed. "Is it always like this?"

I laughed out loud and leaned back into the plush cushions of my sofa. "No, this has just been a freaking crazy few days." I shifted for a second and then my stomach growled. "I guess I'm hungry. What are we doing for dinner?"

Rose smiled and called out to Alice and Jasper. The four of us decided to order pizza and chill out for the rest of the night. Jasper ended up wanting to watch baseball and the three of us started talking about what to do with the downstairs. It was really nice to sit and talk about normal stuff.

Since I wouldn't be going to work in the morning, I stayed up for a while and talked with Rose. She admitted that she really liked Emmett and wanted to take the time to get to know him better.

"We exchanged numbers before they left and he said he'd call me when they got back," Rose confided.

"Cool, Emmett's a good guy, Rose," I assured her.

"Do you think he's really going to call me?" she asked sounding a little insecure.

"If he said he was going to, I'm sure he will. He's not the type of guy who would say something and not do it."

She shifted slightly on the couch, "I'm nervous about the long-distance thing."

"What about it?" I asked.

"If we can really make it work."

"I think you are putting the cart before the horse, hon," I told her, "I think you should focus on getting to know one another first, before you start putting so much pressure on yourselves."

"I hear you," she whispered, "It's just that I can see it going further."

"You do? Really?" I asked.

"Yeah, I do," she smiled slightly, "and I think that is what is _really_ making me nervous."

We chatted until I began yawning. I looked at the clock and once I saw that it was after 11:00pm, I excused myself and went to bed.

I slept in on Tuesday morning and immediately needed some pain meds when I got out of bed. My side and back were incredibly stiff and when I checked my side in the mirror I saw a bright reddish purple bruise about the size of a baseball on the outside of my ribs at the same level as my elbow. I ran my fingers over the extremely tender and unsightly mark and felt a large knot in the middle of it. I realized that I was going to have it for quite a while and I knew Edward was going to be extremely pissed off when he saw it and that wasn't going to be fun.

I slowly made my way down the stairs and was surprised to see that no one else was downstairs at 9:00 in the morning. I went over and made myself a cup of coffee. I picked up one of the many books I had started and never finished, unplugged my charging cell phone (that I didn't remember charging), my cup of coffee and headed out to the front patio. Once out on the patio, I felt like crossing the street and sitting on the boulders. So that's what I did.

I set my stuff up on the highest one that I would be sitting on and then found an easy way to climb up to my perch. The rocks were already warm from the morning sun and the mild heat felt nice. I looked out over the Pacific Ocean and smiled, "God, I love this place," I whispered to myself.

I took a sip of my coffee and just sat and watched the world move by. There were a few people walking the beach and an occasional jogger. Being that it was a Tuesday, September morning, there weren't very many people out at the beach. I watched the waves crash into the beach and thought that it would actually be nice to take a swim, but I knew that there was no way I could physically do it being hurt. Instead I decided to lie back and relax against the warm rocks. The warmth felt good on my back and I could feel some of the muscles begin to relax. I closed my eyes and the soothing sound of the ocean's wave breaking against the beach lulled me into almost falling asleep.

When the boulders finally became uncomfortable, I gathered my things and headed back across the street to the house. As I crossed the street, I checked my cell for the time and was surprised to see that it was just a little after 10:00am. I also noticed that I had several texts that I had not answered since Saturday afternoon. Most of them were from Kate wondering how I was doing and asking why I hadn't gotten back in touch with her.

I sent her back a text telling her everything was fine and to come over tonight and we could all go out to dinner. She immediately responded saying she couldn't wait to see me.

I walked through the house and heading towards the kitchen to dump my coffee in the sink only to find everyone sitting around the kitchen table looking worried and anxious.

"What's going on?" I asked. All three of their heads pivoted at the exact same time to look up at me.

"Where have you been?" Jasper blurted out.

"I was out front? Why? What's going on?"

"We were just…" Alice began.

"_Please_ don't tell me you were worried about me…" I rolled my eyes and looked up at the ceiling.

"We didn't know where you went," Rose snapped full of attitude, "and after the last few days, even _you _have to admit, we wouldn't be taking very good care of you if we didn't wonder where in the hell you had gone WHEN YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE TAKING THE DAY OFF!" By the end of her rant she was yelling at me.

"You know what guys," I looked at the three of them, "I'm sorry. I'm not used to having to tell anyone where I'm going and what I'm doing. Edward just knows where to look when I get up before him. I DO understand why you would be worried, especially after the last couple of days. Next time, if I'm not in the house, check the boulders across the street. Ok?"

They all nod and mutter their assurances as I join them at the table. "Who wants to go to the Court house with me today?" I ask.

"I'll go," Jasper offers.

"Ok, I want to leave in an hour or so," I tell him. And he nods.

"What are you guys going to do today," I ask my girl-friends.

"I need to start looking for places to open my boutique," Alice supplied excitedly.

"I guess I'll go with the Pixie, then," Rose tips her head towards Alice.

"I said something to Kate about going to dinner tonight. Whatcha think?" I asked excited about the prospect of getting out with my friends and family. We all agreed that going to dinner would be a nice change of pace and then I went upstairs to get ready to go.

When I came back downstairs Jasper was waiting for me in the Family Room. "Hey Sis, you about ready?" he asked.

"Yeah, I just need to grab a few things and then we can go." I went to my desk in the Butler's Pantry and picked up the police and medical reports from Saturday, my purse, my cell and the keys to Edward's Volvo. "You ready?" I asked when I walked back into the Family Rom.

Jasper nodded and we headed out.

It didn't take very long to get to the Court House. We easily found the Clerk of the Courts office where I had to fill out a couple of forms explaining the details of the situation. When I finished filling out the paperwork and handed them back to the clerk, she told me that a judge would be looking over it today and that I needed to come back on Wednesday at 11:00am to learn what the status of my order. I agreed to the time and walked away thinking that was much too easy.

Jasper and I headed home and then I went upstairs to my office and began grading papers and once I finished that I worked on some lesson plans for October. I like to stay a month ahead and generally didn't have a hard time keeping on schedule.

Once I had everything caught up I checked some e-mail, hoping to have something from Edward. But, there wasn't anything. So, I sent him one instead…

_Edward,_

_Hi baby! I miss you so much. It's only been 4 days and it has been such a mess. I'm glad Jasper, Alice and Rosalie are here. They have been a great help. I will fill you in on all the details when we talk next. Just know that everything's fine and I can't wait for you to come home._

_Be safe and come home to me._

_All my love,_

_Bella_

I logged off my laptop and called Kate. We talked for a little while about everything that had happened. She was shocked when I told her what had happened at school and extremely quiet when I told her about filing the restraining order.

"I'm so sorry, Bella," Kate sighed into the phone.

"It's not _your_ fault," I scoffed. "Honestly, I never imagined it would come to this. I thought she just had a lingering crush or something," I laughed into the phone.

"Bella," Kate paused and I really wasn't sure what she was going to say next, "there are some things you need to know about Tanya and I have some paperwork that you should take with you that will help with the restraining order."

"Ok, I think you should tell me now," I gently suggested.

"When we were in High School, I was a Senior and Tanya was a Sophomore, Tanya had a huge crush on my boyfriends best friend, David. David was very popular and at first he was very sweet in handling this younger girl that was fawning all over him. But, when David started dating another Senior, things shifted. Tanya caused a lot of trouble for David and his girl-friend and eventually caused them to break-up. Tanya saw the break-up as a sign that David wanted her and threw herself at David. When he rejected her she lost it, went to his house at 2:00 in the morning and raised all kinds of hell. His parents called the cops and Tanya was arrested. David, eventually, filed a restraining order against her."

After Tanya had been arrested, my parents put her in counseling and it didn't really help. She kept stalking David and after he filed the restraining order, her counselor suggested that Tanya go to a "facility" because she just wasn't going to get what she needed from counseling one day a week and taking medication. My parents weren't sure what to do until Tanya attacked another girl at school who she overheard talking about David."

Tanya went away for six months and in the mean time David had graduated and moved off to go to college. And Tanya never really dated anyone seriously until she married Eric. She would go out with a guy every once in a while, but she always seemed to set her sights on the next one before she had time to get serious with the one she was with."

When she met Edward, she had been dating a guy named Jeff. Jeff was a really nice guy and I thought that he just might be perfect for her. He was very handsome, smart and very wealthy. And Tanya actually admitted to me that she wanted to see where things could go with him. Garrett and I were pleased that things were going well for her. So, we invited Tanya and Jeff to a party we were having and that's when she met Edward."

At first Tanya seemed indifferent to Edward and Edward, well, he wasn't paying attention to any female unless her name was Bella Swan. And I think that's what peaked her interest. Tanya broke up with Jeff and began to pursue Edward. Edward let her know very quickly that he wasn't interested, but Tanya never gave up. And then when Edward went and got you, Tanya married Eric at the court-house the day Edward left. It really shocked us all. I didn't even know that they knew each other, let alone well enough to want to get married."

I hoped it would distract her from Edward. But, when you came back with Edward I think she became more focused on _you_ than on him. And now the whole thing is really out of hand."

I wasn't sure what to say. I wasn't _that_ surprised to learn that Tanya really was crazy. "So, you said you had some paperwork that could help me?" I asked.

"Yeah," she answered quietly, "I have some things from the facility she went to with her past diagnosis and a copy of the restraining order that had been filed against her by David. Bella, are _we_ ok?"

"Kate, of course we are. You can't control Tanya. And you had no way of knowing what she'd do," I tried to comfort her, "And I wouldn't have expected you to tell me about her past. It was none of my business until she started acting out towards me and you're telling me now, when it matters."

"Are you sure?" Kate asked.

"Yes, Kate. I am completely sure. You and Garrett have been so good to me since I came back. You guys have helped Edward and me so much. I really don't know where we'd be if it wasn't for you guys."

We eventually dropped the subject of Tanya and decided to meet at McP's at 6:00 for dinner.

Once I got off the phone with Kate, I went downstairs and found Jasper watching TV and told him what the dinner plans were. The girls weren't back yet, so, I decided to go back upstairs and take a nap.

I sat down on the side of my bed and realized I should call Mrs. Cope and let her know how I was doing. She was glad to hear that I was fine, but insisted that I take the rest of the week off. I didn't want to, because I really needed the distraction, but I took the days off anyway. As much as I felt ok, I knew that taking a few extra days off wouldn't hurt anything. So, I agreed and told her that I would see her on Monday.

I lied back on the bed and pulled Edward's pillow over my face. It still smelled like him. Not as much as it did last night, but it _still_ smelled like my Edward. I wrapped my arms around the pillow and wondered where he was. I hoped that I would hear from him soon, but I knew I might not hear from him until he walked through the front door. I fell asleep to thoughts of wrapping my arms around him while resting my head on his chest.

When I woke up it was after 4:00 and I knew I needed to get ready. I opted for a pair of blue jeans, a gauzy turquoise blue tank top and a pair of sandals. I threw my hair up in a pony-tail, put on some light make-up and then headed downstairs.

Jasper was in the same spot on the couch that I had left him in. He informed me that Alice and Rosalie were both getting ready, but didn't know what to wear. I told him jeans were fine and he headed up to tell the girls.

Once everyone was ready we headed decided to take the Volvo for the short ride to McP's, which was literally 5 minutes away. We found a parking spot and headed towards the restaurant and found Kate and Garrett waiting for us out front. When we went inside, Garrett informed us that he had called ahead and we had a booth waiting for us.

We were seated quickly and everyone immediately started ordering beers and, since I was on pain meds, I announced that I would be the designated driver. Garrett offered me a high-five and told me "welcome to the club" because he was always the designated driver when he went out. The evening seemed to fly by between the easy conversation, good food and music. And before I realized it Alice was sloppy drunk and we were all laughing at her trying to tell a story about me and Edward and when we were all kids. But, she was so drunk that she was combining three different stories and when Jasper and I tried to straighten it out she became furious and demanded we take her home. So, that's what we did… we paid our tab and headed out.

As we made it outside of the pub, Alice slipped and Jasper caught her before she hit the ground and hoisted her up into his arms. She mumbled something that resembled "Jassssper" and then passed out in his arms. Rosalie and I came down with a case of giggles as we walked to the car. I could help but laugh at Alice and when I winced in pain, Rose started laughing at me and then we were both laughing at each other. I calmed down enough to drive us home and was pretty happy that we didn't have very far to go.

Rose helped Jasper get Alice upstairs and into bed. I told Jasper, "you have fun with that," as they headed up the stairs. I didn't envy him having to take care of a drunk Alice who was prone to puking and having very nasty hangovers.

I put my purse away and as I went to put my phone on its' charger. I called Edwards' cell knowing that it would just go straight to voicemail, but at least I would get to hear his voice. "_This is Edward Cullen's phone, leave a message…"_ I played it three times before I finally left a message: "Love you, baby." And then I hung it up and went up to bed.

When I woke up Wednesday I felt a little sore, but better than yesterday. I knew I had to be at the court house at 10:00. So, I went ahead with my morning ritual of coffee and breakfast. Jasper of course was up when I went downstairs and he agreed to go back to the courthouse with me. It was a relief to me to have my brother go and support me. I think it made me feel more rational, less emotional.

I asked about Alice and he just shook his head, "she'll be fine once she has some coffee." I chuckled because Alice drunk was always great entertainment, but Alice hung-over was painful for everyone around her. And I was glad to be getting out of the house.

I made my coffee and went out to the courtyard. The air was slightly cooler than yesterday so I decided to head back inside and grab a hoody. I took a side trip and picked up my phone as well and then headed back to relax before getting ready to go.

Kate had texted me at 8:00 "Have news about the guys… call me when you get this."

I gasped aloud. I knew it wasn't bad because she would have called the house and not bothered with a text. I quickly dialed her number, eager to hear her news.

"Hi, Bella," Kate answered.

"What's the news?" I quickly asked… anxiously wanting to hear that they were on their way home.

"I have good news and bad news…" she trailed off.

"What's the bad news?" I asked.

"You know they were supposed to leave today for two months, correct?"

"Yeah," I groan, having an idea where this was heading.

"Well, they will be going on _that_ training cruise," she said smoothly.

"Ok, so, we have a date then?"

"Yes, November 11. I won't know times until two weeks before."

"Alright, at least we know they are out of harms' way and when they will be back," I say, trying to shore up my confidence. "So, what's the good news?"

"The good news is that we know exactly where they are right now. They are on the Ronald Reagan. And the even better news is they will be able to e-mail and possibly call once they get settled."

I stand up, because I am too happy to sit down, "That is awesome news, Kate!" I squeal excitedly into the phone. "Thanks for texting me this morning, I need to go and tell everyone what's going on."

"Ok, Bells. Hey! Do you need me to meet you at the court house?" Kate asked.

"Ummmm, I'm not sure." I hesitated, really wanting to get off of the phone, "But, you can come if you want to. I have to be there at 10:00."

"Ok, I will meet you there," she said and then we hung up.

I immediately went inside and told Jasper the good news. Rose came downstairs, hearing my excitement, and asked what was going on. I explained to her and I could tell from her expression she wasn't sure why I was so happy.

"Rose, we know where they are. They will be able to communicate. When they are in the field we know _nothing_." I explained and she just nodded.

I told Jazz that we needed be leaving in 30 minutes and then ran upstairs to get ready to go. I quickly got ready and went back down to make sure I had all the necessary paperwork for court. I found everything easily on my desk. I opened my laptop and checked my e-mail and found nothing from Edward. I thought about sending him another e-mail telling him to call me later, but I figured that he wouldn't call me until after he thought I was home from work. God, I couldn't wait to hear his voice.

I checked the time and Jasper and I had to leave. Rose whined about having to take care of the "drunk Pixie" and we laughed at her as we left the house.

I couldn't help but feel buoyant knowing that I would be talking to Edward at some point today. Jasper teased me about my lightened mood and I couldn't help but laugh and tease back. When we arrived at the court house, Kate met us in front of the Clerk of the Courts office. I signed in and waited for someone to call my name.

I didn't have to wait long before an older lady called "Miss Swan" and asked me to follow her back to her cubicle. She told me that the judge had granted me a temporary restraining order against Mrs. Yorkie and handed me multiple copies of the order. She told me to keep a copy on me at all times and that I needed to have someone else serve Mrs. Yorkie with her order. She handed me a separate form that was to be filled out after Mrs. Yorkie was served and then I was to make 5 copies of that form as well. She told me that in three weeks there would be a hearing to receive a permanent restraining order. I would need to bring all forms and any medical and police reports that may support my case. At that hearing the judge will decide if the order will become permanent.

I thanked her for explaining and then met my friends back in the waiting area. I explained to them what needed to be done and Jasper offered to serve Tanya with the order and Kate offered to show him where she lived. I let Jasper drive me home and Kate followed us to the house. I went inside and Jasper went and got into Kate's car and left.

I went upstairs and found Alice and Rose sitting on the couch laughing.

"What's going on Ladies?" I taunted them.

Alice sits up, "Rose was telling me about the story I was trying to tell last night and her face was just too funny."

"How are you feeling?" I asked Alice.

"I'm ok. The coffee helped. But I really didn't feel too bad this morning," she smiled. "So, how'd it go?" she asked.

I explained to the girls how it went and that Jasper was serving Tanya with the restraining order as we were talking. We sat there for a minute and talked until Jasper and Kate came in from downstairs.

"Well, that was fun," Jasper growled as he plopped down next to Alice.

"Did everything go alright?" I asked looking from Jasper to Kate and back again.

Kate sat down by me and sighed, "Yeah, it went as well as to be expected. Tanya, initially, had no idea what it was all about, but as soon as she opened it she ran after Jasper screaming."

"What?" I asked in complete disbelief.

"She probably would have beat my ass if Kate hadn't stepped in and stopped her," Jasper laughed.

"What did you do?" I asked Kate.

"I just stepped in front of her and I think my being there really confused her. I calmed her down and told her that Garrett and I would come by tonight and have dinner with her and Eric."

"You're brave," Rose muttered under her breath.

Kate's head shot around and she gave Rose a pointed look. "Listen, I know my sister is waaaay out of line right now. But, she's my sister and I'm going to do right by her and see that she gets help. I would appreciate it if _you_ could refrain from the sarcastic remarks until I leave."

"Sorry," Rose ducked her head, "bad habit."

Kate turned to face me, "Garrett and I are going to talk to Eric and see if he agrees to try and get her some help. If we can't make that happen in the civilian world, we may be able to make something happen through the command. It's not ideal, but it's an option."

"Thanks for going with Jasper, Kate," I smiled at my friend, "I really appreciate it."

"No problem," Kate smiled back and stood up. "I really need to get going I have quite a bit to get done before tonight."

I stood up and walked her out and thanked her once again as she left. I felt lucky to have her as a friend, crazy sister and all.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**a/n: I'm so sorry this is late. I had to split this chapter in two because way too much is going on in poor Bella's life and I just couldn't pare it down... and I'm trying really hard to stick to my outline...**

**I hope to have part two up tomorrow night, Saturday night at the latest... I'm already working on it...**

**Thanks for reading... please review and let me know what you think of this chapter... I know it's a lot of transition and I guess that's what makes me nervous...**

**Thanks again!**


	10. Chapter 9 Part 2

**I do not own Twilight... but I do love it so... happy reading...**

**.**

**.**

**.**

After walking Kate out to her car, I sat down on the steps in front of the house and enjoyed a moment alone. It seemed like the only time I was alone anymore was when I was asleep or in the shower and I just wasn't use to it. I watched a few cars go by and then decided to head back inside.

When I opened the front door I heard raised voices coming from the family room. I could her Jasper and Rose arguing about something and I really didn't care to know what. When I reached the stairs I could hear that they were arguing about Tanya and Kate. And when Jasper called Rosalie selfish, I knew it was time to go upstairs.

I hoped I made it to my room without being heard, but then again I really didn't care at this point. I quickly made my bed and picked up a few articles of clothing that had been lying on the floor. I went in my closet and straightened the little messes that had lingered. I went back into my room and looked out my front window at the ocean and realized I hadn't sat out on my balcony in a while. I grabbed some magazines from the basket by my nightstand, opened the French doors and then stepped outside to relax.

It felt like a typical, mild San Diego day and I loved it. I sat down in my wrought iron glider and propped my feet up on the small ottoman in front of me. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the top of the chair. The slight rocking of the chair and the sound of the ocean was enough to help me relax. I enjoyed the silence for a few minutes more and then opened my decorating magazine looking for ideas for some of the unfinished rooms in the house. It would have been absolute perfection if Edward would have been sitting by my side relaxing.

After I finished sifting through a few more magazines I decided to face the music and see what was happening downstairs. I rounded the corner and saw Rosalie sitting in the courtyard and there was no sign of Jasper or Alice.

I went to the refrigerator and grabbed a soda and then decided to see what was going on with Rosalie.

"Hey," I started as I walked through the French doors. Rose didn't raise her head to look at me. Instead she turned her head away, bringing her hair down between us in a curtain, so that I couldn't see her face.

"Hi," she said so softly I could barely hear her.

"What's going on?" I asked, knowing that something dramatic must have happened for her to be acting this way.

"Oh, nothing," she shook her head, "just another case where I can't keep my mouth shut."

"What happened?" I ask and take the seat next to her and set my soda on the table.

She sat for a moment continuing to hide her face from me. "After you and Kate walked out Jasper told me that my remark to Kate was childish. And that Kate was dealing with enough as it was and for me to say that was insensitive at best."

"Well," I began, "I have to agree that your timing absolutely sucked. But, Kate's a big girl and she told you what she thought."

Rose peeked up at me, "Is she completely pissed off at me?"

"No, I don't think so. I think she has more things that she's worried about other than Bella's friend being insensitive."

"So, you agree with Jasper?" Rose glared at me and asked as if it would be completely insane for me to side against her.

"Listen, I think that if you didn't have anything constructive to say you should have kept your mouth shut until Kate left. That's all," I stated plainly.

Rose looked hurt and on the verge of tears. "It was just a harmless comment," she said under her breath.

"You know what Rose..." I stood up. "As one of your friends, I am used to your comments and your sense of humor. But, most people don't understand and it comes across as bitchy and insensitive. And as much as you don't want them to be, they are entitled to their opinions just like me and you."

I briskly picked up my soda and turned to walk away. But, before I stepped inside I turned back to Rose and said, "If you want to make things right you need to apologize to Kate." I walked back into the house needing to get away from Rose before she and I ended up fighting just like she had with Jasper.

The phone rang and after being distracted by Rosalie, I answered it, still somewhat annoyed, without care.

"Hello?"

"Bella?" the voice asked.

"Edward?" I gasped. Oh my god! I couldn't believe it was him.

"Hi, Love. How are you?" his voice was gravelly, but it sounded so good.

"I'm better now that I'm talking to you," I joked.

"I know. It's so good to hear your voice."

"Did you get my e-mails?" I asked.

"Yes. What's been going on?" he asked, his voice sounded full of concern.

"How much time do you have? Because there's been some craziness," I say the last part quietly.

"I have about 15 minutes and then we'll have to resort to e-mail for a while."

"Ok," I sighed, "Saturday I went to the debriefing with Rose, which was uneventful, after we planned on meeting Kate and Victoria for lunch at Miguel's. Rose and I went to the bar to get a Margarita, because Rose was being Rose and I just needed a freakin' drink after _everything._ Well, we were sitting there minding our own business when Tanya comes up with Eric and starts being her crazy self. I tried to be polite, and when I turn my back because I think she's done the woman grabbed my damn pony-tail and jerked me off the bar-stool and I landed flat on my back."

"WHAT?" Edward growled and I could tell that he was completely pissed off. "You got to be kidding me! That crazy… Did you call the police? Are you pressing charges? What about a restraining order? What the hell did Eric do? Don't tell me he did nothing or I'll… Are you fucking ok?"

"Baby, calm down," I tried to soothe him. "I'm fine. Eric hauled her ass out of the restaurant and the manager called 911. I am pressing charges and have filed a restraining order. She didn't really hurt me as much as it just stunned me."

"Should we get the command involved?" Edward asked, completely serious.

"No," I groan, "Kate and Garrett are going to talk to her and Eric tonight to see if they can get her to go get some kind of help."

"Are you sure you're ok, Love?"

"Yes, Edward, I'm ok," I try to reassure him with a firm voice.

"So, how'd the rest of the week go? You made it sound like other things have happened." Edward was way too perceptive for his own good.

"Well, after the Tanya thing I kind of lost it on Jasper. But we talked about it on Sunday and things are better."

"That's good," he sighed. "Is that it?"

"Well, ummm… on Monday, there was fight outside my class and when I opened my door…" I knew I had to say the next part really quickly or I was going to chicken out, "…"

"And?" Edward asked. He knew me well enough to know I was trying to make it less of a big deal than it was.

"…

"What in the hell? You were tackled? Are you fucking ok?" Edward was angry, again. "Please tell me you are ok."

"Yeah, baby, I'm ok," I sighed, wanting to cry for having to tell him I was ever hurt in the first place. "I went to the hospital and had CT scan and some x-rays and everything came back normal."

"Why did you need x-rays and a CT?" he asked and I could tell he was still _very_ angry.

"Well, I hit my head again. So, two head-injuries in three days warranted a CT-scan. I had to have my ribs x-rayed because I think I took a punch to my left side and they just wanted to rule out broken ribs."

"What the… Are you fucking bruised?" he growled at me.

"Yeah," I whined not wanting to upset him more.

"Love, when I get home, I'm going to teach you some things that will make size irrelevant," Edward said in all seriousness.

"Baby, but you are the perfect size," I teased trying to change the subject.

"Funny, Swan." Edward chuckled. "I want you to do me a favor…"

"What's that?" I asked.

"I want you to take a picture of that bruise and e-mail it to me…"

"What? Why?" I couldn't understand why he would want me to do such a thing.

"Motivation, Love, motivation," his voice had a strange edge to it, "and Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"Make it a good one."

"Oh, ummm, ok." I thought I understood what he meant.

"I have to go, Love," he grumbled.

"Ok, Baby. I miss you," I said softly.

"I miss you, too," he replied. "I love you, Bella. These two months will fly by, I promise."

"I hear ya, Cullen," I tried to be positive, "I love you, Baby. Be safe."

"I will. Bye Bells."

"Bye, Edward."

And then he was gone.

I hung up the phone slightly sad, but mostly so happy that I had a grin that stretched from ear to ear.

Now, that I had heard from Edward and knew he could e-mail I decided to call Esme and Carlisle and let them know what was going on. I called Esme's cell phone and was relieved to get her voice-mail. I left a quick message relaying all the information I had and then hung up.

I thought I should call Alice and see what she and Jasper were up to and when they were coming back. I was relieved to hear that they were just walking the beach and would be home in a little while.

I plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV while I waited for them to come back. I flipped through the channels looking for something to watch and eventually settled on some type of decorating show. I zoned out not really paying attention to the show, but at the same time not really paying attention to anything else.

Alice and Jasper came through the front of the house. Alice's giggling snapped me out of my trance and I snapped my head around to see the pair walking to the kitchen, smiling, hand in hand. Their happiness radiated off of them and it warmed my heart and made me smile. I hoped that Edward and I looked that happy when we were together.

Alice looked over at me and smiled. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing," I answered shaking my head slightly. "Edward just called."

Alice's face lit up and Jasper turned to look at me, not sure of what he had just heard. Alice excitedly skipped over to me, "And everything's good?"

"Yeah, he will be able to e-mail regularly and call every once in a while," I explained, "so, things ARE good."

"Great," she smiled. "I found a space." She was grinning took a spot on the couch. Alice turned to face me as she pulled her feet up onto the couch and then crossed her legs so that her knees were almost touching me.

"You did?" I asked sarcastically. "I knew it wouldn't take you long, Al." Alice beamed at me and I could tell that she wanted me to ask her all about it. "Alright, dish, where is it? What does it look like? When can I go see it? Come on, Woman, I know your _dying_ to give me the details."

And she was. The next hour or so we spent talking over the details of Alice's new shop. She had already developed a successful clothing line that had taken off in Miami and now she wanted to open a second shop here in San Diego. Alice was really hoping to add a larger couture collection to her existing line, as well as finish the most recent line she had been developing. We agreed that I would go with her on Thursday to see the space she had her eye on and to tell her what I thought.

"Alice?" I asked and she looked up at me. "I need a favor."

"Ok, Bella," she answered without hesitation. Alice was always there to help me with whatever I may need… always.

"Get Rose and meet me upstairs in my room, ok?"

"Sure." Alice looked at me, not really sure what was going on, but she quickly got up and went in search for Rosalie.

I headed up to my room and ended up passing my brother on the stairs and he didn't look happy. "Jazz, you ok?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered bluntly.

"Ok… we can talk about it later if you want," I suggest.

"Sure, we can do that," he nodded and continued on his way down the stairs.

The short conversation felt strained and I really wasn't sure what to make of it. Regardless, we would get to the bottom of that later.

I quickly made it to my bedroom and sat down on my bed and waited for my friends to join me. I really want to do something for Edward and I know that my girls can help me pull it off.

"Alright, what's up?" Alice's voice startled me. Alice was standing in the doorway and I could see Rose looking in over her shoulder.

"Ok, I told Edward about _everything_ that has happened over the last week and he wanted me to take a picture of the bruise on my side…"

"Why wou…" Rose interrupted me and then smiled, realizing the answer to her question, "Ohhhhhh… I get it."

"Right," I answered, "so, I need some help with my hair and what to wear."

Both of their eyes lit up at the idea and they both came into the room and grabbed my hands, pulling me up and off the bed.

Rose immediately spoke up, "Alice go pick her out something sexy to wear and I will work on her hair and make-up." Alice nodded and turned off towards my closet as Rose and I went into my bathroom.

"Sit," Rose ordered and began looking through the vanity drawers for my make-up and hair stuff.

I took a seat on the vanity stool and waited for Rose to tell me what to do.

Alice yelled from the closet, "Royal Blue or Coral?"

Rose and I answered, "Royal Blue," in unison.

Rose pulled out a large barrel curling iron and plugged it in. "Take your hair down," she said quietly and I obliged, pulling my pony-tail holder out of my hair. "I think I want to pull some of it back on top, but the rest I want to curl in big, loose curls. Sound ok?"

"Of course," I answered matter-of-factly. I completely trusted Rose to make me look beautiful.

As Rose began curling my hair, Alice dashed into the room holding several small scraps of material in her hands. "Ok" she gasped, almost out of breath. "I found these and these," she said as she spread two sets of royal blue panties (a pair of boy-shorts and a thong) and a demi-bra, all in satin. "What do you think?" she asked looking back and forth between Rose and me.

"I'm thinking the boy-shorts will be better, if anyone else were to see the picture," I smiled up at Alice. Rose nodded and continued curling the hair that framed my face.

"I know Edward loves you in blue," Alice began, "but the coral would look beautiful, too."

"I know, Al, but let's stick with what we know he'll love."

Alice nods and her eyes light up, "How 'bout some heels? I saw that gorgeous blue pair you have in there and they would just make your legs look so long."

I nod and she squeals and runs out of the room to retrieve the shoes.

Rose and I laugh at Alice's excitement. "I think you just made her day," Rose chuckles.

"Yeah, I think so," I giggle back.

Rose pulls the hair at my crown back and pins it back and out of the way. She then arranges the curls around my face, spreading them with her fingers and taking the time to do them just so.

"Beautiful," she sighed, "now the make-up… how about a smoky eye that will make those brown eyes pop?"

I bite my lip and nod knowing that Edward is going to absolutely love it.

Rose sets to work on my eyes and uses a charcoal black on the top and bottom of my eyelids and then smears it just so. She then takes the mascara and applies it while adding, "You have the thickest eyelashes I have ever seen." The compliment makes me smile. Rose pulls back to look at me. When her eyes fall to my lips she says, "I think some gloss will do it." I smile again, because, I hate lipstick and don't really wear anything but lip-gloss.

Alice enters the bathroom and gasps, "Damn, Bella, you look hot!"

I laugh out loud and Rose scolds me not to mess up my make-up.

"Ok," Alice says as she walks over and grabs my bra and panties, "Put these on and we'll get things set up."

"Ok," I say, suddenly feeling nervous about them 'setting up' anything, "Just keep it simple, alright guys," I plead.

I take my lingerie and they head out towards my bedroom. I undress and dress quickly and check my appearance in the mirror. Although Edward has seen the lingerie before, he has never seen me look quite like this. I have to agree with Alice… I _do _look hot. My brown eyes pop out against the charcoal framing and my pale skin. And the soft curls framed my face so that the heart-shape of my face was accentuated.

I turn slightly and look at the bruise on my left side. It had darkened from the reddish purple to a dark purplish, blue with some green tinge around the back edge. It was really quite hideous and I knew Edward was going to be livid when he saw it. Hopefully the pictures would be sexy enough to distract him… one can only hope.

I walk into my bedroom with my shoes in hand and am surprised to see a warm, pinkish-orange light is being cast into the room by the setting sun, making it seem warm and cozy.

Alice and Rosalie are standing at the windows looking out towards the ocean. "You guys ready?" I ask.

They both turn and smile. "Ok, Bells, put on the shoes and come stand over here by the window," Rose orders. I oblige as Alice walks to the opposite side of the room with camera in hand. Rose props my hand just so, twists my hips slightly towards Alice, and then adjusts my hair. "You look beautiful," she winks and then pulls away. The both easily talk me through a few standing shots and then rose points me towards my white chair in the corner where the aqua wall meets the white.

Rose fixes my hair again and then adjusts my legs slightly. She steps back and Alice snaps a few quick shots. "Wait," Rose interrupts, "try this," she says and then quickly comes back to me. She places both of my knees together and then pulls my high-heel clad feel as far away from each other as she can. She pulls me forward so that my elbows are on my knees, "rest your chin on your hands," Rose orders. I, of course, do as I am told. Rose fixes my hair again and then steps away.

"Tilt your head a little," Rose says quietly.

"Relax, Bella," Alice tries to soothe me from behind the camera, "just think of Edward," she chimes.

I slight smile comes t my lips at the thought of Edward. And for the next twenty minutes I let my friends rearrange me as they see fit, thinking of nothing but Edward and how much he is going to love what I am doing for him.

Once Alice is satisfied with the shots we have gotten Rose runs downstairs to grab my laptop while I put some clothes back on. When I make it back to my bedroom, Rosalie and Alice are sitting on my bed with my laptop on and the camera plugged into it. "Hurry up," Rose orders, "I can't wait to see how these turned out."

I crawl up to the head of the bed and log on to my computer. After the computer is ready I download the pictures from the camera to the laptop. And I am amazed at what I see. I barely recognized myself. I look beautiful and sexy. Of course there are a few awkward shots, but most of them are pretty good. The three of us pick our favorites and I pick a couple more that I think Edward will like and then attach them to an e-mail for Edward.

_Edward,_

_Here are the pics of my injury. _

_I love you, baby and I will e-mail you again later._

_All my love,_

_Bella_

The girls and I wrap up our little photo shoot and head back downstairs. We him and haw about what to have for dinner and then we finally decide to just fend for ourselves. I make myself a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup while the others mill around the kitchen making their own dinners.

We sat outside in the courtyard. When Alice shivered, Jasper got up and walked over to the fire-pit and began building a fire. Once he got it going he called us over. Alice immediately took her seat on Jaspers lap and Rosalie sat down by me.

Jasper and Alice are whispering back and forth to one another. Making Rose and I look at one another. She silently asks me 'what they are whispering about' and I shrug and 'I dunno'.

"Alright, you two, what is it?" I ask.

"What do you want to do Saturday?" Jasper asks.

"I don't really care what we do," I dead-pan, trying to avoid the subject of _Saturday_.

"Come on, Bells," Alice's voice gets slightly pitchy because she is annoyed with my avoidance, "it's your _birthday_. There has to be something you would like to do." She looks over at me and then sticks out her tongue.

"Ok," I sigh, "I really just want to relax with you guys. Rose leaves on Sunday and I want to spend as much time with her I can before she has to leave."

"You don't want to do _anything_?" Alice asks, slightly annoyed with me.

"Let's plan on going to the beach and going out to dinner… the rest let's just play by ear, ok?"

"Alright, it's your birthday, after all," Alice groans.

The rest of the night we chit chat and have a genuinely pleasant evening. Jasper seemed a little off, but he still was a part of most of the conversations and he even seemed to be back to normal with Rosalie. I finally felt tired around 11:00pm and said my good nights and then trudged my way up to bed.

My laptop was still on so I decided to check my e-mail and was ecstatic to see an e-mail from Edward waiting in my in-box. I immediately opened it up and dove in.

_Bella,_

_The pictures were beautiful, amazing, sexy and so many other things. I have to say I was pleasantly distracted from the awful bruise that is on your side. _

_That bruise just pisses me off to no end… but you know that. I can't help but feel that if I would have been home I could have protected you, but I know that's bullshit. I know that even if I would have been there you would have still gone to work and the same stupid shit would have happened. _

_I know it was beyond my control._

_Who took those pictures? Please tell me Alice or Rose. I can't handle the thought of anyone else being in our bedroom with you. _

_I want to feel you so badly. Every time I close my eyes you're all I see. Last night I had a dream you were in my rack with me. And I swear when I woke up this morning I could smell you around me. For a second I thought you were here, but then I blinked and I knew exactly where I was and it just made me want you even more. _

_I love you, Bella. I am counting the days I have left on this cruise and counting the days I have left before I go to shore duty. Have I explained that to you? I am not sure if I had. Basically, I won't be doing this anymore. I will be an SEAL instructor for at least two years and after that I am not sure if I will re-enlist. We will have to talk about that once the time comes._

_I miss you Love and I can't wait to hear your voice again. I'm sorry I won't be there for your birthday, but please try to have fun with everyone and I promise that I will make it up to you when I get home._

_I'm sending you all my love,_

_Edward_

I closed my laptop and got up out of bed, setting the laptop in my chair that sits next to the bed. I quickly used the bathroom and then headed to our closet. I walked over to Edward's side and found one of his well worn BDU shirts and pulled it on and buttoned it loosely at the bottom and stopped after the third button. I am engulfed in Edward's large shirt and once I inhaled I was taken over by his scent. I was comforted and torn apart at the same time.

I did feel closer to Edward and decided to dwell on those feelings rather than the other. I climbed back into our bed and took a moment to feel the weight of Edward's shirt against my skin. I pulled his pillow to my chest and inhaled. At this point his shirt smelled more like him than his pillow. But, it was still his pillow after all. I smiled slightly and fell asleep at the thought.

We decided the night before that Thursday would just be a lazy day. We all slept in and eventually got together about lunch time to go for a walk on the beach. We took our time enjoying the ocean air and eventually made our way back to the house. Rose had been called from work and needed to take some time to take care of the issue. Jasper decided that he wanted to grill some chicken for dinner and Alice decided on potatoes and salad for the sides. I decided to mix a batch of mango Margarita's while the pair worked on dinner.

Once the Margarita's were mixed I poured one for myself and one for Jasper and made my way out to the courtyard to see how the grilling was going. I handed my brother the glass and he took a sip.

"Mmmm, that's great Bells," he complimented with a smile on his face.

"Thanks, Jazz." I smiled back. "The chicken smells good," I offered.

"I hope it turns out," he smiles and winks.

"So…" I pause not sure where to start, "What's going on with you?"

Jasper glanced up at me and I could see he was surprised that I had noticed his strained behavior. He looked back to the grill. "It's nothing Bella. Don't worry about it."

"I beg your pardon?" I ask, slightly annoyed with him dismissal.

"Bella, it doesn't have anything to do with _you_. So just let it go." He said roughly.

"What the fuck Jazz? That's quite a double-standard you have there. I'm supposed to rely on you and depend on you. But, you can't be bothered to tell me anything. And I can tell that it's something _important_. So, get the fuck over yourself and spill it."

Jasper slammed the tongs he was using on the speckled, granite counter and turned to face me. His face was hard and his eyes were boring through mine. "Has Alice said anything to you about having a baby?" he asked.

"No," I replied quietly.

"Well, it's not going how we planned. And on top of that, I'm having issues with the house closing in Jacksonville. Oh, and on top of that, I need to find a job. Is that enough for you?"

"I'm sorry Jasper. But, I do appreciate your confiding in me," I answered.

He and I talked for a while and I would like to think that it helped him. But, he's a man after all and you never know if what they hear and what they don't.

The rest of the evening was calm. We ate, we drank, we talked and eventually we went to bed.

I think that night the tequila in the Margarita effected my greatly. All I could think of us Edward and his hands all over my body. Eventually, I worked myself up so much that I had to take matters into my own hands and get myself off.

Once I finished, I couldn't sleep and decided to write Edward a letter…

_Edward,_

_Hey Baby!_

_I miss you. We had drinks at dinner tonight and I think I had too much. When I came to bed I put on your old BDU and got in our bed. _

_The shirt smells of you and between the tequila and the shirt I couldn't stop thinking of your hands all over my body… Tracing my breasts and circling my nips with an occasional pinch or pull, raking their way down my sides making me lurch and giggle and then working their way to my aching pussy where you push me over the edge again and again._

_I simply worked myself up to the point where I had take matters into my own hands and get myself off. Every second, every movement… I thought of you, wished it was you._

_God, I fucking miss you._

_Bella_

I fell asleep shortly after I set the pen and paper aside and dreamed of Edward's face between my legs.

Friday morning I woke up feeling rested and better than I had all week. When I got up and went downstairs, the smell of fresh coffee filled the air. I took a quick glance around and saw that I was the first one awake. And I found myself truly excited to have a moment to myself. I happily walked over and made myself my usual cup of coffee, picked up my cell phone and headed out to the front patio to watch the ocean.

I hadn't been sitting down for more than a minute when I heard a car-door slam. I glanced over towards the direction of the noise and I immediately gasped and dropped my coffee mug to the ground.

There's a streak of strawberry blonde hair and I know exactly who it is. I get to my feet and turn to run into the house, not content to find out what exactly what she wants. Before I can make it inside, Tanya calls me name.

"Bella, please wait." Tanya's voice was calm.

I open the front door and then turn to face her. "Tanya, you shouldn't be here," I said quietly.

"I know…" she paused and looked down at her feet. Tanya was in jeans, t-shirt and sneaker and her hair was gently waving in the wind. She looked beautiful standing there, but I couldn't help but feel bad for her. "I just want you to know that, well, I'm sorry for all the chaos I've caused. I really am."

"Ok," I nodded slowly, not really sure what to say.

"I wanted you to know that I'm leaving and I should be gone for a while."

I was stunned. I really wasn't sure why she was here telling me this. The whole situation just made me completely nervous. "Tanya?" I asked and she looked up at me. "Why are you here?"

She looked around, carefully avoiding my face. "I'm not sure," she sighed. "I guess I thought you deserved an apology. I just… I've just made a terrible mess of things and I am _truly_ sorry."

I stood in front of the door and waited. I was afraid that if I moved too quickly she would attack.

"I should go," she said quietly and I nodded. She turned and walked away, leaving as quickly as she came.

I went inside and sat down on the chair that sits in the Living Room. Not sure how someone so crazy could possibly seem so sane in such a short time. I needed to call Kate and see what was going on. I went into the kitchen and immediately called Kate and she informed me that after she and Garrett had gone to dinner at Tanya and Eric's, Tanya agreed to see a counselor and the counselor immediately suggested that Tanya go on a "retreat".

I didn't ask about the details because it really wasn't my business. Tanya was getting help and with any luck she would leave me the fuck alone.

Kate asked me what my plans were for my birthday and I told her about going to dinner and invited her and Garrett. She said something about inviting Ben and Angela and I told her it was fine and that I would call her with the details later.

I got off the phone with Kate right before Alice came bounding down the stairs.

The first words out of her mouth weren't good morning but, "do you want to go see my store?"

I of course, agreed. We talked for a few minutes about what her plans were for the space and then decided to wait until Rosalie woke up to see if she wanted to go.

I went upstairs, showered, got dressed and ready for the day. And by the time I made it back down Rosalie was awake and making her coffee. Rose agreed to come with us but said she needed some time to get moving.

"Too many Margarita's?" I joked. Rose laughed lightly and nodded her head.

Alice and Rose went back up and the same time and got ready. It wasn't long before we headed out to see Alice's store. I couldn't believe how close the store was to the house. It was placed between a small café and jewelry store. I thought it will be a nice spot for Alice's boutique.

The property manager was waiting to let us in when we arrived. Once in the door hurricane Alice excitedly ran us through her plans. Showing us where the showroom will be, the counter and register as well as her design and office spaces in the back. All in all, Alice had a solid plan. It was very similar to what she had done in Miami, just slightly toned down. She and Jasper had already agreed to sign the lease and would be doing it this afternoon.

I was very excited about the prospect of having them so close. But at the same time I was sad that Rose will be out in Florida without us.

We had lingered in the store long enough for lunch to roll around. So, we decided to eat at the café next to the store. As we were walking out, Jasper came to the door to meet with the property manager. Rose and I went ahead to the café while Jasper and Alice stayed to sign their paperwork.

The café was nice and the food was yummy. Jasper and Alice had talked about the design for the store through most of lunch and Rose and I just smiled and nodded. When we were asked our opinion we gave it easily, but we let them have their moment to begin their planning.

At lunch I confessed what had happened with Tanya earlier in the morning and none of them believed that she was capable of acting sane, let alone rational. Jasper was annoyed with me because I should have called the police so I could have the documentation for my case. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the thought.

Eventually, the four of us parted ways. Rose and I went back to the house, while Jasper and Alice stayed behind at the store.

Once I made it home, I checked my e-mail and was disappointed that I hadn't gotten anything back from Edward. I figured that since Rose really only had one more full day with us that she might like to go sight-seeing. But, when I asked she refused.

"Bella, I don't care about any of that shit," she shook her blonde head and smiled at me, "I don't know when I will see _you_ again and I'd much rather chill out here, talk shit and drink strong Margarita's with you then go traipsing around the city and look at shit I could care less about."

I couldn't help but laugh… that was vintage Rosalie Hale after all.

The rest of the day went much like the day before. We relaxed, ate dinner, drank a little too much and then went to bed.

I dreamt of Edward again… but this time I had my face between his legs.

"Happy Birthday!" wakes me up and I groan. I know the voices and I wish they would just leave me alone. I groan, roll over and pull Edward's pillow over my head. I feel someone bounce their way onto my bed and I have to fight the urge to kick them.

"Let me sleep," I groan, hoping that they will be nice and leave me alone on my Birthday. But noooo… Alice pounces on top of me while Rosalie rips the pillow out of my hands.

"Wake your ass up," Rosalie orders as she hits me in the head with Edward's pillow.

The Pixie is on top my squirming all over. "Come on Isabella… it's time to get up," she sings.

"Ugh, FINE!" I snap and throw Alice off of me as I sit up.

I quickly take in the scene and am surprised to see Jasper holding a tray at the foot of the bed. Alice has shifted and is sitting beside me on the bed and Rose is next to the window.

"Ready to eat?" Jasper asks.

"Sure," I smile and Jasper brings the tray and sets it on my lap.

"Happy Birthday, Sis," he says as he kisses the top of my head, "I love you."

"Love you, too, Jasper," I reply.

Jasper takes the chair and we all try and figure out what we want to do for my birthday. I decide that I want to have Kate, Garrett, Angela and Ben over for dinner and just relax. Of course Alice is disappointed, but Jasper and Rose seem to agree that it's a great idea.

We spent most of the time relaxing around the house. Kate and Garrett came over around 3:00 and Angela and Ben showed up around 5:00. Rose pulled Kate aside and quickly made amends which was a great relief. We spent most of the evening talking while the guys grilled some steaks. Eventually, there was a cake and they did sing 'Happy Birthday'. But, the only thing that kept it from being a perfect birthday was the fact that Edward wasn't there.

I woke up this morning knowing I would have to take Rosalie to the airport in a little while. I really wasn't looking forward to saying goodbye to her. She's my best friend after all. She may be opinionated and difficult, be she is family. She and I always argued and seldom saw eye-to-eye, but we were always able to put it behind us and move forward.

I decided to go ahead and get ready before I headed downstairs. I dressed in khaki shorts and a fitted t-shirt and flip-flops. Once downstairs, I made my coffee and turned to see Alice, Jasper and Rose all sitting in the courtyard talking.

I open the door and ask Rose, "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," Rose smiles. She stands up and Jasper and Alice follow her lead. They all exchange hugs and kisses and then Rose comes back inside.

I turn to my brother and sister-in-law and tell them I will be back soon.

I decide to take Edward's Volvo and help Rose put her luggage in the trunk. Once we get on the road I ask her if she has heard from Emmett. She smiles a small, shy smile and says that she has.

I can tell that whatever he has said has made her happy. And for some reason, she's just not ready to share. I know she will eventually and that it is hard for her to put a name on what it going on.

It doesn't take us long to get to the airport and I wish she wasn't leaving.

"Do you think you'll be back soon?" I ask.

"I hope so. I want to come back before they deploy in December, but I'm just not sure if I can work it out with work. But, I will let you know when I get home," she explains.

I pull up to the curb of the departing flights drop off and get out of the car to help her with her suitcase. "I hope you come back soon, I'm going to miss you," I tell her as I give her a hug.

"I know, Bells. I'm going to miss you too," she tells me as she hugs me back.

I pull away and tell her, "I love you, call me when you get in."

She nods and says, "I will." She begins to walk away, "Love you, too, Bells."

And then she disappears inside the airport.

I want to cry because I feel like its one more person I love who is leaving me… one more person I love that I want to be here with us.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**a/n: thanks for reading... I'm sorry I didn't get this up by Saturday. I ended up spending 14 hours at a baseball tournament for one of my kids. They won at least! Summer vacation is in full swing here and I will do my best to update weekly. **

**.**

**.**

**I have posted some links to MoH on my profile... check them out if you want...**

**.**

**Thanks for reading... please review and let me know what you think... see you next week :0)**


	11. Chapter 10

**I do not own Twilight or any of it's characters...**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**a/n: Thanks for hanging in there... **

**.**

**.**

**Happy Reading... but be fore-warned there is some serioues subject matter below...**

**.**

By the time I make it home, Alice and Jasper have made lunch and are where I left them in the courtyard: sitting around the table. Alice sees me and waves and smiles a very eager, energetic smile and I can't help but think that I'm in for something.

"I have the _best_ idea," Alice begins, dramatically emphasizing 'best', and I can't help but groan. Nothing easy ever comes out of Alice's 'best ideas'.

"All right, Al, let me have it," I sigh as I sit down in the chair next to her.

Her eyes become wide as saucers and after a slight recovery she begins, "Well, Jasper and I are in a bind. Between the closing falling apart in Jax and starting a new shop here, we aren't really feeling comfortable about getting a new place right now. And I was hoping that we could talk to you and Edward about staying here for a while."

"Surely, that can't be the idea you were all excited about?" I know her well enough that there is something else going on. Jasper and Alice staying with Edward and me is a given. Neither of us would ever have a problem with that.

Alice giggles and glances over at Jasper. I follow her eyes just quick enough to catch him rolling his eyes. "See, I told you she'd see through that," Alice teases Jasper. She looks back at me, "Ok, so what are you and Edward's plans for the downstairs?"

"We had talked about turning it into his office and his 'home theater'. Why? What are you thinking?"

"What would you think about turning it into a guest suite with a really nice efficiency kitchen?" Alice asked.

I thought about it for a minute. It really wouldn't be too difficult or expensive to do what she is thinking. It would also allow us all some privacy if they did stay with us longer than anticipated. I just needed to talk it over with Edward. And that would be easier to do now that he had the capability to check his e-mail regularly.

"I will have to talk to Edward about it, but I really don't see a problem with it. Especially, if we can make it so that room can be easily converted to the home theater he wants when you guys leave." Alice is smiling and Jasper just looks relieved. I look over at him and kick his foot, "Did you really think I was going to say no?"

"No," he shakes his head, "I just hate having to ask. And you know how the Pixie over there can get," he nods towards Alice. "I need you to make sure Edward is _really_ okay with all this."

"Of course, there's no way I would even think about doing something like that without speaking to him." Sometimes my brother is just dense, like I would do something that major without talking to Edward.

"I know you have ideas, Al. So let's hear 'em."

Alice immediately jumps in telling me about several different ideas at the same time. She's all over the place not only in her decorating ramblings but also in her body language. Alice is so excited that she's fidgeting like a crack-head needing her next fix. The thought makes me laugh out loud at her.

"What?" she asks as she looks back and forth between Jasper and me, "What did I say? What's so funny?" She scrunches her face in confusion and then I can't help but laugh harder.

"It's nothing, Al," I sputter in between giggles. I calm myself a little and then try to explain, "You're just so excited that you can't sit still."

"I know, I know," she smiles, "It's just another fun and exciting project, that's all."

"Well, you know we should call your Mom, right?"

"Wha… Why?" Alice acts as if I just completely rained on her parade.

"Well, she started _this_ project," I sigh as I wave my hands around at the house, "I think I would like her input on how to make it all as cohesive as possible."

"Oh," she says quickly and I can tell that she's more than slightly miffed.

"Alice, it's not that I don't think you and I can't handle it." I try to reassure her and smooth things over as best I can, "It's that I think it would be fun for the three of us to do it together."

"I guess it would be fun," she offers a tight smile, "You know I'm not good at sharing designs, right?"

I can't help but laugh, "yeah, Al, I know. But you need to know that, ultimately, all the final decisions are mine… no one else's."

She looks over at Jasper and then up at me through her eyelashes. "Ok, I hear ya Bella."

"Well, I need to go run this past Edward before I call your Mom," I get up from the table and walk inside to get my laptop and I'm just a little annoyed that I have left it upstairs.

After trudging my way upstairs, I find my laptop sitting on my bed-side table and turn it on. As the machine powers up I decide to go throw on some sweat-pants. As I pull off my khaki shorts, I'm slightly annoyed that my side is still sore. I look over at the mirror and lift my t-shirt to examine my bruised skin. It has faded some, but the center of the bruise was still very ugly and splotchy. I can't help but wonder how much longer the bruise will remain.

Frustrated, I fumble around the room looking for my favorite Adidas sweats and find them folded and sitting on the table that sits in the middle of the small room. I slip them on and walk over to the bathroom, grab a pony-tail holder and throw my hair up into a loose bun, and walk back into my bedroom. I position the pillows at the head of the bed so that I can comfortably work on my laptop.

I can't help but be ecstatic to see that I have an e-mail from Edward waiting for me in my in-box. I quickly open it and can hear his voice as I read his words.

_Bella,_

_Hi beautiful. I hope you had a wonderful birthday and I'm sorry I wasn't there. But, I'm sure the gang helped to make the day great._

_We've settled in to an easy routine now that we are on the boat. It's kind of nice, but boring at the same time. Em and I were joking that we are going to have to do something to change the pace soon. But, that is the point of all this I suppose._

_I don't really have a lot to say right now. I don't really want to dwell on how much I miss you and how much I love you. I think that just makes it harder. So, please send me something interesting back to talk about.__Love, I can't wait to get back to you and I am counting the days._

_All my love,_

_Edward_

It sucks that it's so short, but it's a hell of a lot better than nothing. I quickly hit reply:

_Edward,_

_Hey baby! It's so good to hear from you. I wrote you a letter the other day and I will put it in the mail tomorrow with some other goodies for you. ;-)_

_Thanks for the birthday wishes. It really was a great day. The ONLY thing that could have made it better was if you would have been here. Kate, Garrett, Angela and Ben came over and spent the evening eating and relaxing with us. It was just the way I like my birthday to be… low key. _

_I've been taking it easy (like the Doctor ordered), but I go back to work tomorrow. The boys involved in the fight are being made to work for me every morning and afternoon for the next week. The ironic thing about the whole ordeal is that these two are honors students who have never been in trouble before and now they have been suspended and will have detention for the next month. _

_Rose left this morning. I took her to the airport. I'm not sure what is going on between her and Emmett, but she seems to really like him. I think it's messing with her head a bit. Has Emmett said anything to you about it?_

_It looks like Alice and Jasper will be staying with us for a while. She's immediately jumped into opening another boutique and I think Jasper is having a hard time with it, especially with the sale of their Jacksonville house being in limbo. What do you think about letting them move in downstairs? I think that with a little work we could make the downstairs into a nice guest suite with an efficiency kitchen that could easily be converted into your home theater when they decide to move out. _

_I like the idea of them being here and being in their OWN space. That way we all have our privacy. Let me know what you think as soon as you can. If you are ok with it, I am going to call your Mom in and have her run the project. She already has a great rapport with architect and builder. And I'm certain she'll get it done efficiently._

_Tanya came by the other day and apologized. She also told me that she was going away for a while. And now I'm not sure if I should follow through with the restraining order. What do you think? The date for the hearing is in 3 weeks and I'm sure I will be able to talk to the judge some about options and also how to discontinue the order when I deem it's time. I guess I just want to be fair and not over-react._

_So, you mentioned something in your last e-mail about what happens when you go on 'shore duty'. What is that? Please explain. I'm excited about the idea of you NOT having to leave at the drop of a hat. I guess we need to start having conversations about the future. Although… I have really been enjoying living in the moment with you since we've been back together._

_Did you know Jasper and Alice are trying to get pregnant? I didn't know until he let something slip in frustration the other night. I haven't talked to Al about it yet. I can't help but wonder why she hasn't said anything to me about it._

_Anyway… __I guess I should go. Please let me know what you think about finishing the downstairs ASAP._

_I love you, baby!_

_All my love, always and forever,_

_Bella_

I hit send and check a few more e-mails, hop on the net for a minute and then before I can get too far in my browsing a small window pops up in the bottom of my screen telling me that Edward has sent me another e-mail.

I grin like the Cheshire cat and quickly go to his e-mail…

_My Bella,_

_Hey beautiful! I was just going to drop a note to my Mom when I got your e-mail. I don't have a lot of time, but I wanted to let you know that you should go ahead and call in my Mom about finishing the downstairs. She knows what our long-term plan is and can make it work with whatever Alice may want. _

_I have to go. But, I should be able to e-mail you again later tonight._

_I love you._

_Edward_

I knew he would be ok with finishing the downstairs, but I also knew that I had to at least run it by him. I picked up the phone and immediately called Esme, who immediately insisted on coming tomorrow. I offered to pick her up and for her to stay at the house. But, she politely refused and told me that she would rent a car and get a room at the Hotel del Coronado. I told her that I would be home around 4:30, but Jasper and Alice would be around. We got off the phone pretty quickly and I ran downstairs to tell Alice the good news.

Alice and Jasper are sitting in the family room when I come flying downstairs. Alice is of course overjoyed and begins bouncing around the house jabbering on about paint samples and furniture.

Jasper just laughs and tells me, "You just made her day."

I sit down on the couch next to Jasper and smile. "Wait 'til she hears Esme will be here tomorrow," I scoff knowing Alice is not thrilled with the idea of sharing this project with her mother.

"Tomorrow," Jasper says under his breath. "Joy, that ought to be fun."

I cock my head to the side wondering what exactly I'm missing. "Ok, so what's happened between Al and Esme?"

"Alice hasn't told you?" he asks completely surprised that I had no clue. I shook my head no. "Well, maybe you should ask her," he mumbles.

"Jazz, for some reason Alice hasn't been telling me what's been going on with her lately. Can you at least give me a heads up about what's going on?"

"Shit," Jasper mumbles. "One of the reasons we were so ready to leave Jax is because of Esme."

"But, they always got along so well. What happened?" I had always envied their relationship. They always seemed to get along and be on the same wave length, unlike me and my Mom.

"Bells, go talk to Al, ok? I just can't," Jasper's voice broke and I immediately looked up to see him wipe a tear away from his cheek.

"Ok," I whisper as I lean over and pull my brother into a hug. He hugs me back and I can tell that he is holding his breath, trying not to cry. Whatever happened had to have been very bad for Jasper to be this upset. "I will talk to Al," I say quietly into his hair, "It's going to be ok, Jazz. Regardless of what has happened it will be ok."

"I hope so, Sis… I hope so," he whispers back.

I pull back and kiss his cheek. "Love you," I tell him as I move to stand up.

"Love you, too," he feigns a smile.

I walk slowly through the main floor of the house listening for any sign of Alice. As I pass the stairs I hear music drifting up from down below. I slowly make my way down not sure what I am going to find. Alice and Jasper are, normally, the happiest couple on the face of the earth. They have always managed their lives and relationships with ease. Alice's silence and Jasper's emotional stress are enough to break my heart.

Right now our downstairs has two bedrooms, 3 full baths and a very large great room. The walls had been painted a neutral taupe, but nothing else had been started. Edward and I had planned to put his office down here and have this be the "Boy's" part of the house: Complete with a huge 72" flat screen TV, pool table, poker table, a Bar, big comfy couches and arm chairs for him and all of his buddies to relax and have a grand ole time.

When I look around the space I am instantly excited about finishing it with Alice. I know that Esme will guide and won't take over (just like she did with the rest of the house). I also know that for Alice to _not_ want to see her, something really dramatic must have happened.

I see Alice's i-pod docked against the wall and figure I should call out for her so I don't startle her. Alice immediately pops her head out of the bathroom.

"What's up, Bells?" she asks.

"I think we need to talk," I say gently.

"Ok. About what?" she comes out from the behind the wall looking slightly defensive.

"What's going on between you and your Mom?" I ask, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.

Alice turns her head slightly away from me so that I can't see her eyes, "I don't know what you mean," she answers dismissively.

"Cut the shit, Alice," I tell her harshly. "I know something's up. You and Esme get along great and now you don't want her to come and help. You need to let me know what's going on before she gets here tomorrow."

Alice's head snaps to attention. "She's coming tomorrow?" she asks with a gasp.

"Yeah… once Edward agreed to finish the downstairs I called Esme and asked her to come. I didn't think it would be a big deal until I told Jasper and he alluded to you having a problem with your Mom that I should talk to _you_ about. And don't tell me it's nothing." I raised my voice slightly with the last statement and Alice's eyes met mine, "Jasper wouldn't be ready to cry over _nothing._"

Alice turns and begins pacing about the room. I don't understand why my life-long best-friend is having trouble talking to me. We have _never, EVER_ had trouble talking before and I don't understand why she can't talk to me know.

"ALICE…" I bark a little too loud causing her to startle and look up at me. "Honey, you know you can tell me anything. You and I don't keep secrets. Come on, just tell me what's going on." I walk over to her and put my arms around her trying to hug her.

She doesn't hug me back. She stands there with her head on my shoulder and her arms hanging limply at her sides. She's tense at first and she's not breathing and then out of nowhere she exhales and begins sobbing on my shoulder. After a moment her arms wrap around my waist and her sobs turn into gentle cries.

"Come on let's sit," I encourage her as I gently guide her down to the carpeted floor. She sits down easily, but stares at her feet. "Alice, please talk to me."

"I'm not sure where to start," she says almost too quiet for me to hear.

"Just start at the beginning."

"Ok… the beginning… Do you remember our Senior Prom?"

Oh hell, I didn't think we were going to end up going back that far. "Yeah, I remember. What about it?"

"That was the night that Jasper and I made love for the very first time."

"But… I thought…" her shaking head stops my stumbling words.

"Nope… we had done _almost_ everything else. But, that was the first time we had sex."

I just nod and wait for her to continue.

"That was also the day I pregnant," she said quietly, but this time she was looking me squarely in the face gauging my reaction. "Nothing to say?" Alice asks as if she's daring me to have an opinion.

"No, honey, I have nothing to say," I reply quietly.

"Well, to make a long story short… I wanted to keep it, but I let Jasper and my Mom and Dad convince me to get rid of it. They used all the convincing arguments: I was too young to be a mother, I had such a promising future ahead of me, and how could I even think about giving up my scholarships. My favorite is: you're young and _healthy_ you will have all sorts of time to have a family." She laughs bitterly and shakes her head to herself. I take her hand in mine and give it a gentle squeeze and wait for her to continue. "So, I listened. I got rid of the baby. I went to college. I married Jasper. I made a name for myself, a career. Jasper and I finally agreed that we were ready to have a family. We have been trying for _2 years_ to have a baby… _two years_. Before you left with Edward a couple months ago, I went to my Doctor and after and ultra-sound she wanted me to go to a specialist. I went and the results weren't very good. I have a lot of scar tissue from, they are assuming, the termination of my first pregnancy and the Specialist wants me to have surgery. He thinks he could clean it up enough that I _might_ be able to get pregnant.

"Jasper and I really hadn't had a chance to talk about it, before Mom over-heard an errant comment I made to Jasper. When we tried to explain what was going on, she didn't really even want to hear what I had to say. She just told me that she never thought that I _wanted_ children, especially after getting rid of the first one."

I literally gasp at Esme's insensitive comment. "Oh, Al, I'm sorry," I whisper and squeeze her hand.

Alice is looking down at the carpet while she's crying quietly. "I wanted _that_ baby, Bella. But, I was young and scared. I listened to _them_ because they acted like there was NO other option. I listened to them because I didn't think I could do it alone and they made me feel that if I decided to keep the baby I would have to do it all by myself. I was young and stupid and now I'm being punished for my stupidity."

I shake my head and whisper, "No, honey, no one's punishing you." I pull her into my arms and hug her as she cries onto my shoulder.

"Then why does it feel like I'm being punished?" she whimpers into my shirt.

"Because, right now, the situation that you're in _really_ sucks," I smile slightly as Alice looks up at me. "But, it will get better."

"How do you know?" she asks quietly.

"Well, you and Jasper are going to find the best Specialist you can and then you will go forward from there. I really think that need to talk to someone about all of this."

"I'm not sure how I'm going to face my Mom tomorrow," Alice sighs.

"Well, you need to tell her that she messed up and that she can't say things like that to you. Al, you've never had a problem standing up to her before. Stand up to her on this, too."

"Bells, are you mad at me?"

"I'm not mad. I'm trying to understand why you never told me about any of this. I thought we told each other everything. I mean, hell, you even told me about that thing my _brother_ does with his tongue that you like so much." I squeeze her and smile when she giggles at my last comment.

"I don't know why I never told you. It all happened really fast and I thought you would be disappointed in me. I think I was, hell I am, disappointed in me."

"Alice, look at me," I ask and she complies easily and looks up at me through her blood-shot and puffy eyes, "I could never be disappointed with you. I love you. You are my best friend and I wish I could have been there to help you, but I'm here now and I will help you however you need me to be."

"Thanks, Bells. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"Can you do me a favor?" I ask.

"Sure."

"Can you stop beating yourself up about this? I mean, I appreciate your apology. But, I don't want you to beat yourself up over not telling _me_ or anything else for that matter. It's not getting you anywhere."

"I will try," she sighs.

"So, tell me what you're cooking up for this room." I'm trying to lighten the mood by changing the subject. When she looks up at me with a huge grin pasted across her face I knew I had succeeded.

Alice immediately launches into her plans for "the space" as she has taken to calling it. She prattles on excitedly knocking out walls, where to place the kitchen and bar, and how to make the guest bathroom more luxurious. She asks a few questions about how Edward wants the home theater to be set up and I tell her we have it drawn up and in a file in my office. All of her plans seem reasonable and I'm sure that Esme will agree with them.

Alice and I continue with the planning until Jasper brings down two pizzas and a six-pack of beer. "Hungry Ladies?" he asks with a cautious smile.

Alice and I both readily accept the food and start talking to Jasper about the changes we want to make to "the space". Alice seems more relaxed and Jasper is, as always, very attentive to her. He listens intently to what she is talking about while he remains in constant contact with her. He holds her hand or shifts so that his hand rests on the small of her back. I smile at their sweetness and wish I had a little of my own.

I don't want to interrupt them, but I am curious about the time. "Hey Jazz," Jasper looks over at me, "what time is it?"

Jasper looks down at his watch and tells me, "It's a little after 7:00."

I know I need to head up to my office and get things ready for school the next day. I really don't want to, but I turn to Alice and Jasper and explain. Of course they understand as I tell them I'm heading upstairs.

I retrieve my laptop from my bedroom and take it into the spare bedroom that I will eventually convert into my office. I turn on the laptop and immediately check my lesson plans. Depending how far the substitute teacher got with the kids we need to begin prepping for a test this week. Times like this I'm glad I have always been very organized with my lesson plans.

I check my e-mail… one from Mrs. Cope making sure I'm coming back to school and one from Edward.

I quickly read and respond to Mrs. Cope. Telling her that I am fine and I will be at school at the normal time in the morning.

I open Edwards ready to savor _every_ word…

_My Bella,_

_How are you, Love? It seems like you are having a very exciting time since I left. I'm glad your birthday was low key, just like you like it :0)_

_You sure you don't need to take more time off of work? I know you're just going to say you are fine, but it never hurts to ask. Make sure you make those little shits that hurt you work their asses off. Better yet, tell them how your Navy SEAL boyfriend and his team of SEALs want to beat the hell out of them. _

_Speaking of my team, Emmett has mentioned Rose. He does seem to be pretty taken with her. He's being pretty tight lipped about it. All he has said so far is that he doesn't want to "jinx" it, when he told me that I laughed and asked him if we were in high school._

_As far as the Tanya thing goes… it's great that she apologized and is going to get help. But, you still need to press charges and file the restraining order. You have to be safe and protect yourself the best you can. I hope she gets the help she needs. _

_I did not know Alice and Jasper were trying to have a baby. It's odd that they haven't mentioned it. Is everything ok with them? _

_Two months after I come home from this cruise, I will be going on a six month deployment. When I get back in June, I will be going on shore duty. I will have the option of staying in San Diego or going to Virginia, to become a SEAL/BUDs instructor. As it looks right now I should be able to get a chit to stay in San Diego for another two years. It's not certain at this point, because things can always change, but it looks good. There is more that we will need to discuss as far as what I will do after my shore duty is up. I will have the option to re-enlist, but that is something that you and I will need to figure out when the time comes. _

_All right, Love, I need to be going. I will be back in touch with you soon. Please keep sending me e-mails and I'm looking forward to the letter you actually wrote me. I can't wait to read it._

_I love you and I know that I will see you in my dreams tonight, but I really, REALLY can't wait to have you in my arms._

_All my love,_

_Edward_

I immediately typed a response.

_Edward,_

_Hello handsome! I'm telling you there hasn't been a dull moment since you left! You need to get your sexy ass home so my life will get back to normal!__I'm good and ready to go back to work. I'm a little sore and still bruised, but it doesn't hurt to breathe anymore. So, that's a good thing. You can scare the kids when you come back. _

_I know I need to get the restraining order on Tanya. I go in a couple of weeks before the judge to get everything finalized._

_Alice told me tonight that they are having trouble conceiving and that they will be going to a specialist soon to see what the really need to do. She and Jasper are taking it hard. _

_Today has been a tough day. With Rose leaving and Alice confiding in me about the baby stuff, I 'm emotionally drained now. I think I'm looking forward to the boring routine of high school English. Now, I just have to avoid being tackled! _

_I'm tired, Baby, and I think I'm gonna go to bed now._

_I love you and miss you so much. I wish you were home. _

_All my love,  
Always and Forever,_

_Bella_

I hit send and then shut down the computer and then put the laptop and few other things that I would need for school the next day in my tote bag. As I made my way to my room the phone began to ring. I quickly jogged into my room and picked up the phone.

"Hello," I answer.

"Hey, Bells! I made it home in one piece," Rose says sounding overly happy for her.

"Great. How was your flight?"

"Good, a little bumpy at one point. But otherwise uneventful."

"That's good. Have you thought about when you're coming back?" I ask, curious if she's been communicating with Emmett yet.

"Ummm," she hesitates and I can tell that she is stalling, "I'm not sure about the dates yet, but I was thinking Thanksgiving. It all really depends on work."

"Well, let me know when you figure it out. You are always welcome here."

"I know, Bells," and I can hear the smile in her voice, "Girl, I need to get going. It's been a long day and I need to wash the airplane smell off of me."

"Alright, _Rosie_, you go do that and I will talk to you soon," I laugh.

"Fine, Belly, I will!" she laughs in return. We say our good-bye's quickly and hang-up.

I pick out my clothes for the next day, wash my face, brush my hair and then climb into my comfortable bed. I curl around Edward's pillow wishing it smelled more like him.

I wake up to the sound of my alarm clocks incessant buzzing and quickly slap it off. I get up, shower, dress in khaki pants and a fitted white oxford shirt, put on a little make-up, pull my hair back into a low pony-tail, brush my teeth, slide on a pair of leather flats, grab my tote from the office and head downstairs for breakfast.I check the clock and have plenty of time. I make myself a cup of tea, a yogurt and cut up an apple. I sit at the kitchen table for a minute and eat. I think about making a lunch, but just decide to deal with the cafeteria food today. I finish quickly, rinse my dishes, grab my purse and my tote and head to the car. As I'm getting in Edward's Volvo, I realize that I have forgotten my cell-phone. I run upstairs grab my charging phone and head back to the car.

I make it to school by 6:30 and head to the office. I check in with Mrs. Cope and she explains a little further about the boys that tackled me last week. Evidently, they were fighting over a girl. Both boys are 10th grade Honor's students and they will be returning to school tomorrow. Brian Anderson will begin working with me in the morning, from 6:30 to 7:30, and Devin Davis will be with me in the afternoon from 2:45 to 3:45. We chat for a few more minutes and then I head to my classroom.

The Substitute, Mr. Ayala, left very detailed notes about what they covered in class. He also explained to me that two of my female students, Katelyn and Kaylee had tried to reorganize some of the messes the boys had made earlier. I am relieved to see that we are still on schedule and should be able to test this week. I check my desk and I'm relieved to see that too many things aren't out of order and it only takes a couple of minutes to put it right. And before I can see what else needs to be done, students begin entering the room and taking their seats. A few come and see how I'm doing and tell me they are happy that I'm back.

The rest of the day is rote and uneventful. The bell rings, students leave, students enter, teach, the bell rings, students leave, students enter, teach… until 2:40. The students are gone and I sit behind my desk, grade the papers from today. I enter grades in the spreadsheet on my laptop and then print out the pre-test for tomorrow. All that' left is to print 100 copies of the test and then I'm done for the day. I stop by the copy room on my way out and ask Mrs. Levine if she has the time to run the copies, which she does and tells me that she will seal them and then put them in my box for the morning. I thank her and head out to the car. I check my phone on the way and see that I have several texts from Alice.

_9:00am: what time is Mom coming? -a_

_9:27am: what time will you be home? -a_

_9:32am: can you go to lunch? -a_

_10:03am: are you going to answer me? -a_

_10:47am: I'm sorry, I'm nervous. -a_

_11:05am: call me when you get a chance. -a_

I can't help but laugh. I know she's nervous, but Alice will be fine if she can find the stomach to tell Esme what she's thinking. There are times when Esme can catch you off-guard with a sharp comment. But, most of the time Esme is absolutely wonderful and supportive. And in this situation I can't help but wonder if she feels guilty about the situation, too.

I call Al… "Hey," I say when she answers the phone.

"Hi," is all she says back.

"Everything ok?" I ask.

"Yeah, Mom just got her about thirty minutes ago and we are talking," she says quietly.

"Ok then. I will let you go and see you in a few minutes." I am relieved that they are talking and it sounded pretty calm.

When I make it in from the garage I hear Esme and Alice talking in "the space" downstairs. The pair are laughing and seems to be getting along well. I set my tote against the wall by the stairs and walk in to say hello to Esme.

"Hey Esme," I smile, "looks like you made it in ok," I add as I walk over to give her a hug.

"Hi, Bella," she squeezes me gently. "I hear you've been having a rough go of it."

I look over at Alice and give her a dirty look. "Yeah, the last couple of weeks really sucked. But, it's looking up, now. So, what do you think of the Pixie's plan?"

Esme smiles over at Alice. "I think it's very do-able and it will really be and excellent addition to the house."

"That's what I thought, too," I add as I give Alice a wink. "What are you thinking for paint colors, Al?"

Alice skips over to us and excitedly begins talking teal versus turquoise with hints of chocolate. "Well, do what you want, because we can always paint over it when the time comes."

Esme pipes up, "Alice and I were planning on going to a few places to gather swatches and samples tomorrow. What materials were you thinking for the kitchen and bathrooms?"

"You know I am partial to slate… Didn't we make a portfolio while you were here last? It's got to be up in my office. Let me run up and get it and we can figure it out." I turn to head upstairs when my stomach growled, "Hey! What are we going to do for dinner?"

"I'm grilling steaks," Jasper yelled down the stairs.

"Sounds great," I holler up as I make my way to the main floor.

When I make it to the landing I see Jasper flitting around the kitchen between the fridge and counter. "You have it all under control or would you like some help?"

Jasper spins to look at me and smiles a sweet, crooked grin at me, "I don't really need the help. But, if you're up for it I would love the company."

I can't help but smile back, "Sure, Jazz. I'm gonna go change and then I will be back to help you."

"Sounds good," he answers.

I'm happy to see that Jasper has lightened up. Something must have changed for him. Whatever it is I am relieved to see my normally happy-go-lucky brother happy-go-lucky.

I quickly change into a pair of heather-brown yoga pants and a lavender tank top and then head back down to hang with Jasper. He's already outside grilling by the time I make my way downstairs. I peak my head out the French doors that lead out to the courtyard and ask, "Hey Jazz, you want a beer or something?"

"Nah, I've got one," he answers as he raises his bottle to show me.

I dash quickly over to the fridge and grab my own and then back out to the courtyard and stand on the other side of the bar but in front of my brother. "Things better, Jazz?" I ask.

He nods as he takes a pull from his beer, "Yeah, not perfect, but better."

"That's good," I smile and take a drink of my beer.

"I need to thank you for helping us, and well, for talking to Alice. I think that finally being able to talk to you about everything that has happened has lifted the figurative weight from her shoulders. And I need to thank you for not judging and not being mad at her and me, too."

"You both are welcome, Jasper. What kind of friend and sister would I be if I kicked you both while you are down? Am I disappointed that you guys didn't confide in me and Edward all those years ago? Yes. Do I understand that you and Alice, both, must have had your reasons why you didn't? Yes. There's nothing I can do about any of that now. All I can do now is be there for you when you need me."

Jasper smiles, "Sis, you've changed a lot in the last few months."

"Huh? Wasn't I always this wonderful?" I ask trying to be sarcastic and silly at the same time.

Jasper laughs, "Well, I think a year ago you would have been thoroughly pissed at the two of us. I think after a day you would have come around and apologized for being angry and then you would have been the friend that Alice needed. And you probably wouldn't have talked to me for a week."

"Hmmmp," is all I reply. "Was I really that much of a brat?" I ask not wanting to believe I had changed _that_ much.

"You weren't ever a brat. You were just very reactive for a while." Jasper turns to tend the grill and then continues, "After you left Edward, you were very caught up in yourself, but at the time we all understood why. And then you met Jake," Jasper peeks over at me to make sure I'm okay with him continuing. I give him a nod and he starts again, "I always liked Jake. He's a good guy and he genuinely helped you to see things outside of yourself. He got you involved in volunteering in so many different things that you didn't have time to stomp your foot and cry about how hard it was for you."

"I knew you were still in love with Edward while you were with Jake. And I think that if Edward had chased you down when you split, you would have gone back to him. That's what made your break-up so hard for you... the idea that how could he love you so much and _let_ you leave. That he just stopped fighting for it. That doesn't matter now, does it?" Jasper winks at my trying to lighten the mood.

I clear my throat because the mention of Jake makes my chest hurt. "You know I _did_ love Jake," is all I can say.

"I know you did Bells. But it was like we all said… he was no Edward."

"No, he definitely isn't Edward. How is Jake doing?" I ask.

"Well, the last I heard he's fine. Dating a girl named Leah. I saw him about a month ago at the beach, but he just nodded my way and then kept on walking."

"I'm glad he's fine." I have to stop talking or I'm going to cry. I look around the courtyard and can't believe how much my life has changed in two months. "The only reason I agreed to marry Jake was because I thought Edward didn't want me anymore," I whisper. "Don't get me wrong," I look up at Jasper, "I loved Jake and I thought we would have a good life together. I didn't have the over-whelming, all-consuming need for Jake, like I do Edward. But, Jake and I were solid. The only thing that could have torn us apart DID." Jasper doesn't say anything and takes another swig of his beer. And I take that as my cue to continue.

"When Edward showed up to get me I knew immediately what I had to do. And _you're_ right in that I wanted Edward to chase me. At that point, I was naïve enough to think Edward's career choice was like yours and mine. I thought he had options. That he could choose to go on missions… that he could choose to tell me what was going on and he chose not to. And I wanted him to choose me for a change. As much as I wish that I could take back the hurt I caused Edward when I left him and the hurt I caused Jacob when I left _him_, I realize now that it's how it all needed to go. When Edward and I got back together I knew that I had to be honest with him and try like hell to accept whatever Edward had to offer, without compromising who I am." I wink at Jasper, "Little did I know, that he was going to give me all _this_, work really hard at fixing the problems we once had _AND _love me with all his heart," I nod towards the house and smile at my brother.

"Well, Sis," Jasper smiles as he plates the steaks, "I'm happy for you and Edward. And I'm glad you have found you're way back to each other."

"Yeah… yeah…" I smile.

"Steaks are done. You ready to eat?" I nod and then follow him into the house. He sets the steaks on the counter and pulls baked potatoes out of the microwave. "Can you call the other ladies?"

"Sure," I smile and go to the stairs and yell down that supper is ready.

Jasper had also made a tossed salad in a large bowl and set it next to the other food. We made our plates and went back out to the courtyard to eat. Alice and Esme came out a few minutes later all abuzz with plans for "the space" and Alice's boutique. Whatever problems had existed between the pair seemed to be completely resolved.

After dinner Esme and Alice helped me clean up the kitchen while Jasper put away the left-over's. Esme eventually left for her hotel room. But not before setting up a time to meet with Alice in the morning. Alice, Jasper and I chatted for a while, but there wasn't' any talk of what had transpired with Esme.

When I finally make my way up to my bedroom I'm exhausted. I grab my laptop, pull of my yoga pants, climb into my bed and turn on the computer. I check my e-mail and I'm disappointed to not have anything in my in-box from Edward. But I still decide to send him a quick note…

_Edward,_

_Hey Baby. First day back at school was good, uneventful. _

_You're Mom flew in today and she and Alice are going sample hunting tomorrow. I'm sure Esme will get things started as soon as she can._

_I had an interesting talk with Jasper today. He thinks I've changed. That annoyed me at first. But I realized that he's right. I have changed. I even know the moment when the change began. It was the moment I found you outside of the church. _

_At first I couldn't believe it was you. But, the instant you said you wanted me back I knew that I would never let you go and that I was willing to do whatever I had to do to make our relationship work. Anyway … I love you, baby and I can't wait for you to get your ass back home!_

_All my love,_

_Bella_

I shut of the laptop, shut off the lamp on my bedside table and laid back into my pillows and easily fall asleep.

I wake up on Tuesday morning and easily fall into my routine, with just a few exceptions. Before I head downstairs I remember the file Esme and I had made with some ideas for the house and set it on the kitchen table with a note for Alice and Esme to go over. I make it to school at my usual time, pick up my tests from my mailbox and find a tall, blonde young man standing outside my classroom door. He looks up at me as I approach and I ask, "Brian Anderson?"

"Yes," he answers quietly, "Miss Swan, I'm really sorry about last week."

"I'm sure you are Brian," I say firmly as I open the door. I set my bag by my desk and jot down a list of things for Brian to do and hand it over to him. "Do these in that order and then you can go for the day."Brian nods and quickly gets to work erasing the dry-erase boards. Brian leaves after he finishes scraping gum out from under the last desk and then I begin class. It's going to be an easy review day in preparation for this Friday's test. Around 11:00 I receive a text from Alice:

11:01: Can we meet you at school for lunch? –a

11:05: Sure. Meet me in the main office at 12:15 sharp. I will have 40 minutes. –B

11:07: K… See you then. –a

The next class goes by as just as quickly as the last few had and before I know it, its' lunch time. I head to the office and find Esme and Alice waiting for me in the office.

"Hey, Ladies," I chirp and they look up at me and smile.

Esme stands and gives me kiss on the cheek, followed by Alice. "Is there somewhere we can eat that's relatively quiet?" Esme asks.

"Sure," I smile, "let's go to my room."

They quickly agree and they follow me to my classroom.

"We have samples," Alice squeaks and takes my arm as we walk.

"I figured," I wink and smile as I unlock my door and enter the room.

"We were able to make quick progress with the folder you had saved," Esme says in business mode. "Alice likes the materials that you had Edward have already picked, but she, as you know, who like to make a few changes in order to make the guest bathroom and bedroom larger. She would like to have an efficiency kitchen instead of a bar."

I pull a couple of chairs up to my desk and Alice and Esme take their seats. "Mom, whatever changes need to be made are fine with us. Especially if Alice and Jasper are ok with the materials we like."

Alice gets out the food, while Esme opens her portfolio. I smell Chinese food and can't wait to dig in.

"Well, I just need you to ok this plan right now so I can put a call into the contractors that we used before. I want to get this started tomorrow if possible," Esme informs me. She opens her container as Alice hands me mine. I open my container and am pleased to see they brought me Lo Mein. Before I can dig in to my lunch, Esme hands me a revised floor plan and a project board with slate tiles, pictures of how the bathrooms and kitchen will be tiled, and a few paint samples with the colors they will be painting in each space. The colors are bolder than I would choose, but that's ok. They pick a bright turquoise for the office, a chocolate brown for the bedroom and bathroom and then an icy blue for the main living area.

"It looks good." I smile at the pair, "get started."

"Wonderful," Esme nods, puts the portfolio away and begins eating with me and Alice.

We finish our lunches quickly and the pair left as quickly as they came. The rest of the day flies by and before I know it Devin is knocking on the door. Of course he apologizes and I tell him the same thing I tell Brian, "I'm sure you are." I hand him his list and tell him to get to work, while I plan the review for the next day. Devin finishes quickly and it's just shy of 3:30, but I let him go home anyway.

I head home and quickly make my way up to my room, successfully avoiding my family. I'm just going to take a quick nap before dinner. When I wake up I wander downstairs to find the house quiet. I make myself a quick bowl of cereal and then take a seat at the kitchen table to eat. After I finish, I straighten the kitchen and then it down on the couch and to watch a little TV. I'm flipping channels when Esme, Alice and Jasper walk in together. They are prattling on about the boutique and Alice's workspace. Esme looks at me and quickly tells me that work will begin tomorrow on the downstairs. She gives us all a quick hug and then leaves for her hotel. Alice and Jasper disappear shortly after Esme leaves and I feel myself begin to fall asleep on the couch. So, I get up and head to bed. I check my e-mail before settling in and am disappointed to not have one from Edward. I shut the laptop down and bury my head under the covers and fall asleep.

The rest of the week goes along the same lines: Get up, go to work, come home, eat and go to bed. I check my e-mail every night and most days I drop Edward a little telling him about my day and that I love and miss him.

On Friday night I finally hear from Edward…

_Hey Love,_

_Sorry I've been out of touch. Been busy with work this week. This one isn't going to be long, I have a lot of paperwork to tend to and then I'm hitting my rack. But, I promise I will send you a longer note by Sunday._

_I love you,_

_Edward_

Something is better than nothing, I suppose. I send him a quick "I love you," back and then head to bed.

The demolition of the downstairs is going quickly and I am told that they will begin re-building walls on Monday. Esme certainly doesn't waste any time.

I spend the weekend grading papers and relaxing around the house. Esme comes over on Saturday night and takes us all to supper. I'm quickly given the third degree because I have been quiet and all I can say is, "I'm sorry. I just miss Edward." I shrug my shoulders and my family tries to cheer me up. I eventually begin to loosen up and enjoy the rest of the night.

When I wake up Sunday morning I immediately turn on my laptop only to be disappointed when I don't find anything from Edward. I get out of bed in a sour mood and stomp to the shower. I get out of the shower and quickly dress, planning on taking a walk on the beach. But, before I can make it downstairs the phone rings…

"Hello," I answer, completely annoyed to be talking on the phone.

"Bella?" A male voice booms on the line.

"Emmett?" I question.

"Yeah, it's me. You all right? You sound… off."

"I'm ok, just grumpy. What's up Em? Why are _you_ calling _me_?" There are very few reasons that Emmett would be calling me and most of them weren't good.

"I needed to ask you some things about Rosie and then of course _your man_ is dying to get on the phone, too." Emmett laughs when I hear Edward in the background saying something that sounds like 'hey baby'.

I'm immediately relieved and overly excited about hearing Edward's voice. "Ok, what would you like to know?"

"Favorite flower?" Emmett begins with the questions

"Lilacs, white preferably."

"Candy?"

"Doesn't eat it, but she loves Mango flavored anything else."

"Oh, ok. Does she like gold or silver? Birthstone or favorite gem-stone?"

"She likes platinum and her favorite gem-stone is ruby, but of course she loves diamonds."

"Is there anything she collects or absolutely loves?"

"Man, Em, you're really covering your bases," I laugh. "Rose collects ceramic elephants." I hear Emmett chuckle on the other end of the phone. "She takes them pretty seriously Emmett. She doesn't like cartoon, caricature ones. She only likes the realistic ones with raised trunks and they have to be less than six inches tall."

I hear Emmett laugh again. "What's with the raised trunks?"

"They are a symbol of good luck, that's all. Emmett you need to take this seriously," I warn him.

"Ok, I hear ya Bells. Thanks. Here's Eddie-boy," Emmett teases me and Edward before handing the phone over to Edward.

"Bella?" Edward asks, his voice sounding slightly unsure.

"Hi, Baby," I sigh. I've never been flooded by so many emotions at once. I'm relieved. I'm happy. I'm sad. I'm overwhelmed. As much as I want him here with me, I am just happy to hear his voice. I feel a single tear roll down my cheek and I find myself fighting to stay in control of my emotions.

"How are you, Love?" Edward asks.

"I'm ok," I lie.

"You don't sound ok. What's going on?"

"Ugh! You know me too well," I whine. "I've just really missed you the last few days, that's all."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Bells. I miss you, too. Have Al distract you or something."

"I know, if only it were that easy," I try not to sound whiny. "I'm fine during the week when I have work to distract me. I just had too much spare time on my hands this weekend."

"So, what's been going on?" Edward asks trying to change the subject.

"You're Mom's here and she and Alice have started reno'ing the downstairs. The contractors started demolishing everything on Wednesday and by Friday it was cleaned up and they had already begun framing out the new walls. The Plumber's and Electrician's will be here Monday and Tuesday and then Drywall is supposed to start Wednesday. Your Mom wants them to be tiling by the next Monday and completely finished in 3 weeks."

"Wow," Edward says under his breath, "She has some lofty goals."

"She's a slave-driver," I laugh, "I'm glad I don't work for her."

"I'm sure if the contractors couldn't do it they would say so?" he says in a slightly questioning voice.

"I think they would. But, I think she's paying them very well to make sure they can stick to her time-line."

"Oh… well… that makes more sense. So, how'd work go this week? How are your new helpers doing?" His voice is a little harder at the mention of Brian and Devin.

"Work is fine. I had a great substitute that actually stayed current with my lesson plan. And as far as Brian and Devin are concerned, I think they are very sorry for hurting me. They are doing whatever I ask of them without complaint. They both know that they are lucky I didn't press charges."

"They are just lucky I wasn't home," Edward grumbled.

"Uh huh, sure… you would have had fun scaring the crap out of two teen-age boys?" I laugh.

"It wouldn't have been fun per se, but it would have been what they deserved," he snapped.

"Ok, baby, I hear you." I roll my eyes and decide to change the subject, "So, what do you want to do when you get back? I was thinking that we should get away for a day or two."

"Mmmm, that sounds good," his voice is low and I can't help but shiver, "I just want to be where ever you are."

"I miss you," I whisper.

"I miss you, too," he sighs, "I can't get you out of my mind when I'm stuck on this damn boat."

I laugh, "Sounds like you need a distraction, too, baby."

"Yeah, you could say that," he chuckles. "It's definitely easier when we are doing something, _anything_."

"We don't have much time? Do we?" I ask quietly.

"No, not really," he says quietly. "But," Edward continues, "I'm so glad I was able to talk to you today."

"It definitely made my day a whole lot brighter," I smile into the phone.

"I'm glad to hear that. I love you, Bella and I'm counting the days 'til we get home."

"I love you, too, and I can't wait for you to get back either."

"I should go, Love."

"Ok, Bye, Baby," I'm trying not to cry, "Be safe."

"I will. Bye, Bella. I love you," his voice is quiet and I can tell this is hard for him, too.

"Love you," I slip in before he hangs up. I'm pretty sure he heard me, but I can't be sure. I look around my room and I'm surprised to see that I'm standing in the middle of my room. I hang up the phone and plop down on the bed and stay flat on my back and stare up at the ceiling.

I know I should just get up off my ass and be happy that I heard from Edward. But, I don't want to. I just want to lie in _our_ bed and feel miserable. I want to make a big bowl of ice cream and eat it in bed. The only reason I want to get out of bed is to go to the bathroom. So, that's what I did. I spend the rest of the day lounging around my room: eating, reading, napping, surfing the net, checking me e-mail… you name it, as long as I could do it in bed… I did it. No one checked on me or bothered me and it was wonderful.

When I wake up Monday morning I feel refreshed and ready to go.

The second week goes along the same lines as the first. The only exception being that now we have to juggle contactors coming and going from two job-sites. Alice and Jasper spend most of their time at Al's new boutique. While Esme watches over the house like a hawk. Edward and I have begun exchanging daily e-mails. There nothing really just quick I love you and I miss you notes. But each little tidbit makes my day easier and literally helps the week fly by.

The third week I think we all hit our stride and fall easily into an agreeable routine. The only pinch in the week is on Wednesday, when Jasper and Kate go with me to the hearing for my restraining order against Tanya. We meet at the courthouse at 11:00, knowing that the hearing is at 11:30. Kate hands me a file of paperwork from Tanya's past. I almost don't want to use it, because I don't think that I really need it. But, I know that I should present all the evidence that I have at my disposal.

The hearing happens quickly. Judge Thomas asks if I still wish to proceed with the restraining order and I tell him I do. He asks if there is any further evidence I would like to present. I offer him the file folder and a bailiff acts as the middle man and takes it to the judge. He briefly looks over the papers and then asks if there is anything I would like to say. I tell him no and he approves the restraining order for 180 days and can be extended if I "deem" it necessary. I nod and he hands me a signed copy of the order and tells me to have a copy delivered to Mrs. Yorkie. And that's all it took. After telling me that Tanya won't be back for another month, Kate offers to take the order over to Eric and Tanya's. I, of course, agree as long as she lets me take her to lunch. I have to eat quickly and get back to school. So, we find a small deli near the courthouse and quickly catch up with one another. She agrees to call me more often, especially on the weekends. And I agree to call her when I start to feel low again.

The fourth week is breeze. The downstairs is almost done and ready to be painted. Alice is coordinating furniture deliveries. And out of nowhere, Esme begins searching for a beach house or cottage to renovate so that she can have her own place when she comes to visit. Work is easy and Edward and I are still e-mailing on an almost daily basis. When I don't hear from him I call Kate who reminds me that two years ago Edward wasn't able to communicate this regularly and that I need to keep things in perspective. I agree and try to find that perspective she keeps telling me to look for.

Week five is a little more difficult for Alice. She and Jasper are finally able to visit the Ob/Gyn specialist and aren't really happy with what she has to say. Dr. Jeffers told them that she wants to run some further tests before contemplating surgery. I see it as promising, but Alice just sees it as 'no, you can't have kids'. The downstairs is completely finished and Alice and Jasper have begun to fill it with their furniture and are on their way to making it their own.

By the time week six begins, Alice and Jasper were completely moved into the downstairs and I am _almost_ lonely… _almost_. Alice and Jasper want to have a Halloween party, but I convince them to go out instead. Alice dresses herself and Jasper up like vampires and head out for some bar-hopping. They ask me if I want to come along, but I decline telling them I just want to stay in and pass out some candy. And that's what I do. I pass out candy to the little kids and say hi to the parents. When the candy is gone I head upstairs and immediately turn on my laptop to see if Edward had written me anything today. I immediately smile ear-to-ear…

_Baby,_

_This one's gotta be short. I will be out of touch and I'm not sure how long. The next week is gonna fly by, Baby, I promise. I hope you had a good Halloween and I can't wait to get my hands on you._

_I'm sending you all of my love,_

_Edward_

Of course, I'm upset, but I try to find some perspective. It's only a week. I can make it a week, right? I used to be able to do this without hearing from him for a month. I can handle the week. I spend the rest of the night talking myself into being ok.

The next week is boring compared to everything that had been going on the week prior. And to top it off even more I am counting the minutes until Edward is going to be back in my arms. Next Wednesday at 11:00am, the guys were coming in on the Reagan.

Feelng that I won't have time to clean the house before Edward comes home, I begin to nervously clean all the surfaces of the house. Not even the light fixtures are safe. It takes me all Sunday, but by the time I go to bed I am completely satisfied with the state of my house.

I wake up Monday morning buzzing with excitement … in forty-eight hours I will be waking up and going to get Edward. Holy hell! I can't wait for him to hold me against him. I just can't wait to see him, feel him, and love him. I shake my head trying to pull myself out of my love-jones. I don't eat when I get downstairs and just head straight to school. The day feels like it's dragging by, but I don't remember a thing. The kids are constantly teasing me asking me what's going on or if I'm ok. I just nod, mmmhmmm and smile. When 3:00pm rolls around I'm out the door in a flash, heading home. One more work day and then… Edward.

Monday night…I'm having the strangest dream. Its morning and I'm lying in our bed. The doors and windows are open and the sweet ocean breeze is wafting through the room. I've just opened my eyes and I see Edward standing out on our balcony looking out towards the beach. I want to call him back to bed, but I just savor the moment and study him. His bronze hair is a little longer than his typical military haircut and I can see it moving easily in the breeze. His bare shoulders are broad and his back is toned and tapers down to his waist and perfect ass. He's only wearing his black boxer-briefs and he looks so sexy standing there enjoying the view.

I say his name, softly at first. He doesn't hear me so I say it louder. He turns to face me and grins over at me. His smile alone makes me wet. I ask him to come here and he laughs out loud as he slowly makes his way through the open doorway. I blink and he's crawling on the bed with a mischievous grin spread across his gorgeously scruffy face. I roll over to my other side so that he can nestle in behind me and spoon.

He is so warm behind me that I push myself back into him. He groans my name and I startle awake. When I feel hot breath on my neck and the weight of an arm being draped over my waist, I gasp, and before I can scream, I hear Edward reassuring me.

"Easy, Love," he pulls me closer, "It's me. I'm home."

"Edward?" I gasp and turn in his arms to face him. My heart is racing in my chest and my hands fly to his face and hold him still for a second. "I can't believe you're here," my voice cracks as I choke back a sob.

**.**

**a/n: Yippee! I finally posted... Yippe! Edward's back!**

**.**

**.**

**Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know what you think.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**I am truly sorry for this chapter taking two weeks to get out to you. It honestly wasn't for lack of trying. R/L has been crazy busy, but it has finally settled down enough that I SHOULD be able to concentrate more on my writing. There were parts of this chapter that had me completely blocked. So, I started a blog to help me get some things off my chest and to keep you lovely people updated on what is going on with the stories. It actually was a great help to me. If you're interested, the link is on my profile. **


	12. Chapter 11

**I do not own Twilight... but I'm dying to see Eclipse!**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**Thanks for reading... and get ready ... there are LEMONS!**

**.**

**.**

**It really is easier to write, now that Edward is home!**

**.**

"Don't cry, Love," Edward whispers against my hair.

Even though it's dark, when I look into his eyes I can see that they are full of tears. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull myself against his warm body. His strong arms wrap around me like a vise and he is squeezing me so hard that I barely breathe… and it feels like heaven. He smells faintly like sweat and metal. It's different, but he's here… NOW… and I really don't care why his normally clean scent has changed.

Edward pulls back slowly and smiles his sweet, crooked smile, "I've fucking missed you," he whispers right before his mouth crashes into mine. It isn't sweet… it's hard and manic. Our mouths are open and our tongues are desperately moving against one another.

His hand make its' way down my side, causing my body to jerk against his. He continues down my bare leg until he reaches the crook of my knee and then pulls my leg up over his hip. His arm wraps around my back pulling my body flush with his. And I realize that he is completely naked. His body is hard and on fire against mine and his erection is trapped between our stomachs. I push my hips into his and Edward groans and growls into my mouth causing me to smile against his lips.

"You feel so good, baby," he smiles as his hand snakes its' way under my camisole. He begins tracing the sensitive skin under and between my breasts. I shiver as lean back to give Edward more room to work. He pulls the camisole up and over my head and attacks my chest with his mouth. He's biting and sucking and all I do is lean back and take whatever he is willing to give me. He roughly takes a nipple into his mouth as he pulls at the other with his free hand.

"Edward, please," I groan. I want him more that I can say. I reach down and shift him so that his perfect, hard cock is pushing between my very wet lips. He begins to move back and forth, coating himself in me. Edward shifts slightly and pushes his way inside.

"God, I love you, Bella," Edward groans as he slowly pulls away and then pushes his way back in. We begin to move together, setting an easy pace.

I want more. I need more. Our reunions seldom stay sweet and gentle and I'm ready to take it up a notch. I place a hand on his shoulder and push him onto his back. We roll together so that I am straddling Edward's hips. "Fuck," I moan. He's so much deeper and fills me so much fuller in this position.

When I look down at Edward, he's looking up at me through hooded eyes with a slight smile on his face.

"What?" I ask quietly, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

Edward sits up while keeping me on his lap and cups my face with his hands. "You are so beautiful," he smiles and then leans and kisses me, while his hands slide down to my shoulders and then down my back, stopping when he's finally grabbing my ass with both hands. He begins to push up into me while his hands begin to guide my body. He kisses his way down my neck and then a little further down my chest. He finds a spot he likes and bites. When I gasp, he lets go just a little and begins sucking. He's marking me and I begin to move harder against him, wanting to feel more of Edward. He tilts my hips and begins pushing hard into me.

"Bella… it feels… too good," Edward groans.

His groaning spurs me on and I swivel my hips harder into him.

"Fuck… Bella… I'm cumming," he grunts and squeezes my hips harder. Edward buries his head in my neck and wraps his arms around me, holding me against his chest. "I'm sorry, Love," he whispers, his breath washing down my chest making me shiver against him.

"Why are you sorry?" I whisper.

"I planned on making this about you," he sighs as he kisses the hollow of my throat.

I place my hands on either side of his face and tilt his face up towards mine, "Make it up to me later, ok?" I lean down and kiss him gently. Edward shivers slightly and then breaks our kiss. And before I know, he flips us onto our sides so that we are still facing one another. We fall asleep in a happy tangle of arms and legs.

I wake up to the wonderful feeling of Edward's warm breath tickling down my back. I scoot myself back against his chest and I'm rewarded with a quiet groan and his arms wrapping around my waist, cinching me to him.

"Morning, Love," Edward sighs into my shoulder.

"Morning, Baby," I reply as a grin breaks out across my face.

"You hungry?" Edward asks.

I nod my head yes. He starts to pull his arms away and I instantly grab them, "nooooo," I whine, "stay here with me." I try to bat my eyelashes at him, but I'm pretty sure I look like I have something caught in my eye.

Edward laughs quietly, squeezes me harder and kisses my shoulder, "it's good to be home."

I squirm around and roll over to face him, "Do you have to go in today?" I ask hoping like hell that all he wants to do is stay in bed all day with me.

"No," he says as he kisses the tip of my nose, "I finished all my counts and paperwork before I came home."

"When do you have to go back?" I kiss his lips gently and then trace his bottom lip with my tongue.

"I have to check in on Friday and then not again until Monday," he groans as I kiss my way back to his ear.

"That's good," I whisper into his ear. "I've missed you," I sigh into his ear. I kiss my way down the side of his neck and work up towards his Adam's apple. I linger there for a moment… kissing, nipping and licking. Edward tastes salty and sweet at the same time, just faintly sweaty. I sit up onto my knees and look down at Edward.

He pulls his hands back behind his back and looks up at me with a smile. His green eyes twinkle just a bit when he asks me, "What?"

"Nothing," I laugh. Edward _almost_ sounded self-conscious, _almost_. He winks at me when I laugh and quickly move to sit astride his hips. I rock my hips gently against his and feel him harden beneath me. I lightly rake my fingernails across Edward's defined chest, pinching his nipples as I make my way to his sides. He jerks slightly as I let go and continue on to his muscled sides. I tickle his sides all the way to the beginning of the V that defines his hips. I scoot down between his legs so that I can trace the V all the way to the base of his cock. I trace around the base, across his balls and then down the inside of his thighs. He shivers and I can see the goose-bumps rise under my fingertips. I trace my way back up and this time I go straight up his cock to his navel. I lean forward as I go and taking the time to lick all the way up the underside of rigid cock. When I reach the head I slowly trace round the ridge with my tongue. I lean forward a little more and begin to take him in my mouth. I gently scratch my finger nails across his almost perfect abs, down his hips and then back up closer to his cock.

Edward reaches up gently takes handfuls of my hair into his hands. I suck a little harder and he groans my name. He squeezes my hair tighter and I take that as my cue to begin working him a little more aggressively. One hand begins to work the shaft, while the other cups his balls. I use my mouth to suck and tease his head. I begin to suck in earnest causing Edward to growl my name and thrust his cock further into my mouth. I have a feeling that this isn't going to last very long. Edward begins working his hips franticly, when he cries, "fuuuuccckkkkk…" I suck his cock to the back of my throat. His cock twitches in my throat and Edward is gasping my name as he cums.

I suck gently and then carefully lick him clean. I crawl out from between Edward's legs and lay beside him, resting my head on his stomach. One of his hands begins sweetly stroking my cheek and then my hair. "I love you, Bella," he says easily.

I turn and look up at him and smile, "I love you, too." I kiss his stomach and he twitches just slightly.

"Why don't you come up here?" he teases as he reaches down to pull me up to him. I wriggle my way up to his chest and rest my head in the crook of his shoulder. He has one arm wrapped around my back, while the other strokes my arm and side. Edward leans down and kisses the top of my head and I moan quietly, feeling completely at peace for the first time in two months.

I wake up to something tickling the backs of my legs. I move my leg away and groan. I just want to go back to sleep. Then it dawns on me… Edward. I open my eyes and see that he's not lying beside me. There's another tickle on the outside of my thigh and I immediately look down to see Edward sitting behind my knees. He's smiling at me and when he finds the ticklish spot on the back of my thigh, just under my butt, I can't help but squirm. His smile immediately turns into the impish grin that immediately makes me wet. I lean forward so that I am half-laying on my chest and my side, hoping Edward will take the hint.

He shifts slightly on the bed and begins rubbing and massaging my calves… then the backs of my legs… and then eventually my ass. Every once in a while Edward teasingly dips between my legs grazing my sensitive lips. "You're so wet, Bella," Edward says quietly as he continues to massage my legs.

I can't help but moan as I turn onto my back and shift my legs slightly so that Edward is between them. Edward gently takes my ankle and places it up on his shoulder and begins kissing his way up my leg. He spends a little extra time tickling the inside of my knee with kisses. After I have squirmed for a sufficient and Edward begins to place kisses on the insides of my thighs, adding a gentle nip here or there. He continues his way up, kissing the both sides of lips and finally placing a kiss at the top of my slit. He gently spreads my lips with his hands and then starts to lick me from top to bottom. I groan out his name and then he flattens out his tongue and starts to manipulate my clit. I'm groaning and panting when Edward slips his fingers inside of me, curling them up and repeatedly pressing against the spot that makes me come undone. He sucks my clit into his mouth making me grab a hold of Edward's hair and grind into his face as I cum.

I look down, panting, at the bronze head between my legs and realize that I need to let go of his hair. I relax my hands and rub my fingers across his scalp. He looks up at me and smiles, "Good morning."

"Morning, Baby," I smile back. "You want to take a shower?"

"Yeah," he answers. He kisses the inside of my thigh and then sits up grinning. "Let's take a shower." Edward stands up and offers me his hand, which I immediately take and follow him to the shower.

When we finally make our way out of the bedroom it's well after noon. We are both dress in basic jeans, T's and flip-flops. As I'm getting ready to head down the stairs, Edward grabs me around the waist and pulls me back into him. We end up against the wall next to elevator. He presses a button, buries his face in my neck and when the doors open he pushes me inside, spins me around and pins me against the wall next to door. His right hand goes straight to my breast and the other goes straight between my legs. I'm already panting when he bites down gently on the side of my neck. "Fuck," I gasp. And then he's backed away from me.

The door opens and when I look at him he's smiling his crooked-sexy smile. His beautiful green eyes are sparkling with mischief and I realize that this is going to be an interesting day. I quickly calm myself and bolt out of the elevator before he can grab me again. He chases right behind me, tickling my sides as we race into the Family Room. We are both giggling when I hear Alice shriek.

"Edward!"

Edwards' looks up and smiles, "Alice!"

Jasper and Alice quickly make their way in from the courtyard as Edward slaps my ass. "I'm not finished with you," he grumbles. I can't help but giggle when Alice comes flying at him from the French doors, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You're home early," she says just a little too loudly.

"Yeah," Edward can't help but laugh at her exuberance. He sets her down and begins to explain, "We finished earlier than expected. And they let us fly out the way we flew in, instead of staying on the boat."

As soon as Alice is out of his arms, Jasper steps up and pulls Edward in to a hug and tells him, "I'm glad your back, man."

"Yeah, me too," Edward pauses for a second and then continues, "What are we doing for lunch?"

Jasper wraps his arm around Alice's waist, "I don't know. What are you hungry for? You're the one that's been on a ship for the last two months."

"Let' go get a burger," Edward says excitedly.

I step beside him and wrap my arms around his waist. "We should call your Mom," I suggest.

Edward nods and quickly goes to call Esme. When he gets off the phone he tells us, "She'll be here in fifteen minutes and then we'll go."

Right after Edward hangs up the phone it immediately rings. He answers the phone as Alice smiles over at me, "You look so happy," she sighs and comes over to stand next to me, and "Did you know he was coming home early?"

I shake my head, "No, I woke up with him in bed with me this morning."

"That didn't scare you?" she asks skeptically.

"Yeah, but he knew it was coming and quickly told me it was him," I couldn't help but smile and blush.

"I see," Alice giggled.

"Shut up, Al," I grumbled under my breath.

Edward comes back and to stand by Jasper. "That was Emmett. You don't mind if he comes for dinner, do you?" Edward looks down at me and bats his pretty green eyes at me.

"Sure," I smile, "The more the merrier, right?" I really don't mind that Emmett will be coming over. It will give me a chance to talk to him about Rosalie.

"Great," Edward's face lights up. He bridges the small gap between us and puts his hands on my hips and pulls me towards him, "I thought we could grill some chicken tonight. Whatcha think?" He's grinning down at me like he's going to devour me and I can't help but blush again and look away from his heated gaze and press my forehead into his chest.

"Sounds good," I say into his chest.

"What's the matter, Love," Edward asks in a teasing voice. He runs his finger down the back of my neck, "what has you blushing all the way down the back of your neck?"

"Nothing," I whine as I try and squirm away from him. He doesn't let me go. Instead he pulls me closer and nuzzles my ear. His breath tickles my ear and I'm beginning to feel warm all over my entire body. I lean in and kiss the side of his neck. His strong fingers are starting to dig into my hips. I desperately want to kiss him when I am distracted by an "UH UM…"

I glance over t see Jasper looking down at the floor and Alice winking at me. "You know if you guys need a minute you CAN go back upstairs," Alice teases.

"We are fine, Al," Edward says as he begins to pull away from me. "Aren't we, Love?" Edward asks putting me on the spot. He quirks an eyebrow at me daring me to say otherwise, knowing how every little things he's doing is turning me on… immensely.

"Ummmm, yeah, Al, we are fine," I look up at Edward and smile, thinking two can play at this game, "Hey, Alice?"

She looks over and quirks her perfectly groomed eyebrow.

"Wanna play Barbie?" I ask.

"Yes!" Alice squeals. She runs over and grabs my hand and begins to pull me toward the stairs.

I look back over my shoulder to see Jasper laughing and Edward shaking his head. "Have fun guys," I smile, "Esme will be here soon." Edward drops his chin to his chest and I giggle and then tell him, "Keep your Mom entertained, Baby." Edward's head darts up as he quickly shoots me a dirty look. I send him a wink as I turn to head up the stairs.

"Ok, what's the deal?" Alice asks as soon as we are out of ear-shot.

"I need you to make me extra-hot today, ok," I smile and continue telling her, "Edward is teasing the hell out of me and I need to do something to level the playing field."

"How far are you willing to go?" Alice asks her voice full of mischief.

"I'm not sure let's see what you can come up with," I look over at Alice as we enter my closet and her eyes are wide with excitement.

"Alright, you go put your hair up in a high pony tail, like Edward likes, and I will get started on the clothes," Alice orders.

I nod and head into the bathroom. I brush out my hair and pull it up into a pony-tail that _almost_ sits on the top of my head. I've never understood why Edward likes my hair like this, but he does. I walk back to the closet and find Alice rummaging through my clothes. She already has three outfits set out the table.

"The blue bra will work with everything I picked out," she tells me, "but no panties."

I love Alice on a mission! I quickly change bras and realize that I'm putting on the bra I wore for my little photo shoot. Damn, Alice thinks of everything.

The first outfit I pick up is an aqua-blue tank dress. I look in the mirror and I'm not impressed. It's cute and comfortable, but not what I have in mind. "Al?"

Alice quickly looks me up and down and shakes her head no. "Try the denim skirt with the black silk, long-sleeve, V-neck T-shirt." She pulls out a pair of black knee-high, stiletto boots and sets them in front of me.

I dress quickly and put on the boots, knowing Edward is going to love the boots. I check my reflection in the mirror and smile. "This is goooood, Al." The shirt is skin tight and leaves little to the imagination. And the V shows off the bit of cleavage my royal blue demi-bra provided. The dark jean skirt sits low on my waist and is _very_ short. But, considering I bought it to tease Edward with anyway, it was perfect. I pulled on the black boots and loved how they completed the outfit.

"Here," Alice offers, "you might need this." Alice hands me my fitted black pea-coat.

"Thanks," I smile.

"Let's do a little make-up," Alice suggests as she walks to the bathroom.

"Ok," I agree and follow her.

"We're gonna go simple," she smiles at me, "a little mascara, a little blush and a little lip gloss." I nod enthusiastically as she gets started.

We are done in a few minutes and I put on a little of Edward's favorite perfume, Clinique's 'Happy', and ask Alice, "Am I ready?"

"Absolutely," she grins at me. "Damn, I do good work," she sighs.

"Yes, Alice, you sure do," I smile and take her hand and pull her out the door and towards the stairs. I make her go first just to keep Edward in a little more suspense.

When we enter the Family Room, Edward is sitting on the couch talking to his Mom with his back towards us. Jasper is across the room and smiles and shakes his head when he sees us. I walk up behind Edward and rest my hands on his shoulders. He tips his head up and looks up at me. "You ready to go eat?" I ask.

He smiles and says, "Sure."

Esme quickly turns to greet me and I can tell by her face that she's a little surprised by my appearance. She winks at me, "I can tell someone is glad that my boy is home."

I squeeze Edward's shoulder and scoff, "That's a gross understatement."

Esme and I exchange a knowing glance and then she asks, "You sure you don't want him all to yourself?"

"I'm sure," I smile.

Edward pats my hand and then stands up and stretches. When he finally turns around he freezes and his eyes widen. His gaze is hard and as he begins to ogle his way down my form every cell in my body is on fire and alive. When he takes in my boots his eyes snap back up to mine. His eyes are burning into mine and he's grinning at me. "You look beautiful, Bella," Edward tells me in a raspy-sexy voice.

"Thank you," I grin, completely pleased with his reaction.

Esme has made her way around the couch to give me a hug. "Where are we going to eat?" she asks.

"Edward wants a burger. So, I thought BurgerLounge would be good. I think you will like their salads."

"Have we been there before?" she asks.

"No, but we've been to Chance, which is right next door," I offer.

"Alice, why don't you and Jasper ride with me?" Esme asks trying to give Edward and me some space.

"Jazz and I are planning on going to the boutique after we eat. But, you're welcome to come along," Alice suggests.

Edward sneaks up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me flush against him, "you look fucking incredible," he growls into my neck.

"I'm glad you like it," I smile sweetly at our family as I push my ass slightly against him.

"You guys ready?" Jasper laughs at us, again.

Edward and I both nod as we all head down to the garage. We stop for a minute and show Edward the changes we have made to the downstairs. I take a seat on Jasper and Alice's velvet sectional while the rest show him around "their space". Edward peeks his head out of the hall that splits the Guest Suite and the spare bedroom. "Whatcha doin?" he teases.

"Waiting," I reply. I decide to be really naughty and open my legs wide enough that Edward will be able to see that I'm going commando. Edward's gaze falls between my legs and I could see him take a visible gulp of air. He quickly ducks his head back into the room and disappears.

I stand up and yell down the hall, "I'm going out to the car." I hear someone yell back something, I'm not sure what, as I turn and walk out to the garage. I'm beginning to feel especially naughty. So, I decide to sit back on the hood of Edward's Volvo and prop one foot up on the bumper.

Edward is the first out the door with Jasper close on his heels, with Alice and Esme are just a few steps behind them. Edward's head immediately shoots over to me and I see him mutter a "fuck" under his breath. Jasper laughs and Edward adds, "She's trying to kill me." Jasper slaps Edward on the back and then leads Alice and Esme over to their car as Edward walks over and stands in front of me. "Hey, Man," Edward calls to Jasper and Jasper looks over to us, "We'll meet you there, ok?"

Jasper nods and gets in the car. Once everyone is situated, Jasper pulls out of the garage with a shit-eating grin plastered across his face.

Once they are out of the garage, Edward leans down and places his hands on either side of my hips, trapping me between his arms. "Why are you sitting on my car, Bella?" Edward growls.

I decide to play coy, "I didn't have the keys," I sigh.

Edward leans over slightly and gently kisses my earlobe and then slowly runs his nose around the shell of my ear. My lips part slightly and a small gasp escapes me. He abruptly rights himself and smiles, "Alright, I have the keys. Let's go." And then he walks over to the passenger door and opens it for me.

I take a deep breath and push myself up and off the hood. I walk over and place my hand on his ass and drag it around his side as I make my way to my seat. As I sit down, I make sure that my hand grazes his very prominent erection and keep my legs spread just a little longer than necessary.

"All in?" he asks quietly.

"Yeah, baby," I tease with the breathiest voice I can muster. Edward shuts the door and turns to walk away. As much as this is affecting me, I can't help but enjoy every minute of this little game that we are playing.

Edward gets in the car and begins chatting away about what he's going to order and what we are going to do for dinner. That's fine. I chat with him, but all the while I am stroking his thigh with my hand, occasionally getting close to his waning erection. It only takes us a few minutes to get the restaurant and Edward easily finds a parking spot and then he takes my hand in his as we make our way inside to sit with our family.

Edward and I flirt mildly throughout our lunch. I tease my straw and he runs his hand up the inside of my thigh. I lick my fingers just so and brushes my breast with the back of his hand. Before we finish, Edward offers Esme a ride back with us, so we had to behave… a little. I continued to stroke and squeeze Edward's thigh, but decidedly stayed away from his cock. Esme begins telling Edward about her house search and that she has a few in contenders that she would like to take us to see, before Carlisle comes to see them. I laugh when she tells me her idea of a cottage is a 3,000 square foot home... Only Esme.

When we make it back to the house I'm not surprised to see Emmett's Jeep parked in the driveway. "Emmett's here," I smile.

Edward looks over at me, "You sure you're ok with this?"

"Yeah," I smile, "It will give me some time to talk to him about Rosalie."

Edward laughs, "Good luck with that. He has been pretty tight-lipped about her while we were gone." He opens the garage door and Emmett pops out of his Jeep as we drive past him and park.

"Hey guys!" Emmett bellows and I swear his voice echoes in the garage.

"Hey, Em," I smile over at him as I get out of the car.

Emmett takes one look at me says, "Damn, Bells, you're looking _hot_!"

Edward scowls and Esme laughs and nudges her son with her elbow, "You think you're going to be the only man that notices how beautiful Bella is?"

Hearing her compliment makes me blush and before I can thank her Emmett scoops up into a bear hug. "You trying to drive Eddie boy crazy?" Emmett laughs as he sets me back on the ground.

"I am," I smile, "Is it working?"

Emmett's grin gets bigger and looks over at Edward and back down at me. "I think it is," he throws his arm over my shoulder and guides me towards the door, "But, you look at our boy and tell me what you think."

I peek around the massive expanse that is Emmett to see Edward glaring at us. His jaw is set and I can see the muscles flexing when he clenches his teeth. Esme says something to him that I can't hear and Edward shakes his head no in response. Edward glances up at us and notices me looking at him. He feigns a smile and I smile back, completely surprised that he seems jealous of Emmett.

"Yeah, I'd say he's being ridiculously over-protective right now," I tell Emmett as I squeeze his waist. Emmett, of course, let out a loud guffaw. "So, Emmett, we need to talk about my girl."

Emmett's finally quiet when he grumbles, "I wondered how long it was going to take you to ask," under his breath.

**I want to thank everyone who's reading I really appreciate it! **

**.**

**For all those who take the time to review... I love each and every word you write me! You guys keep me motivated! ;0)**

**.**

**.**

**I am supposed to go on vacation next week, but I plan on posting the next chapter on time. **

**.**

**.**

**.**

**Thanks again for reading... and I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. **


	13. Chapter 12

**I do not own Twilight or any of it's characters... but I do love them so...**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**a/n: Yay... I'm posting! I'm so sorry for all the delay... I will explain at the bottom.**

**.**

**.**

**Much thanks to everyone who is reading and even more for reviewing... I send you all much, much love... Happy reading everyone!**

**.**

Emmett and I reach the top of the stairs and I let go of his waist and walk over and grab he and Edward a beer from the refrigerator. "Thirsty?" I ask as I turn back to Emmett and offer him the bottle. Edward and Esme make their way into the kitchen. Edward is eyeing me closely trying to figure out what I'm doing, while Esme wears a wry smile. Emmett nods and takes the beer from my hand. "Edward?" I look over at him and hold up the beer.

"Thanks, Bells," Edward smiles, winking as he reaches for the bottle and gently grazes my fingers with his. The instant his fingers touch mine, I feel a jolt and I almost drop the glass bottle onto the tile floor. But, Edward being faster than me, immediately grabs the bottle with his other hand. His eyes shoot to mine. His green eyes are blazing into mine making my knees go weak. His free hand grabs my wrist and he pulls me towards him as he quietly grumbles, "Come here, you."

I can feel my heart begin to beat faster in my chest and I swear I can hear the blood rushing through my head. And I wonder how any _one_ person can have such a profound effect on another.

I step into Edward's arms as he folds me against his chest, with an arm around my back and another around my waist with his hand resting on my ass.

"Have I told you that I love you, today?" he asks into my hair and I can hear the smile in his voice.

"Ummm," I stall, still _trying_ to play hard to get. "No…"

"Well, then" he releases his hold on me just enough to be able to look down at me, "I love you, Isabella," he says sweetly. I smile up at him and he leans down and kisses my gently. Lingering for a moment, he lightly kisses my top lip and then my bottom. When he's finished he leans his forehead against mine and relaxes into me. I glance up to see his eyes are closed and I smile. My baby is being emotional today and I know I should find out why.

"Edward?" I ask for his attention and he opens his eyes and looks down at me. "I love you, too." I go up on to my tip-toes, wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him back. I'm not as gentle as he was. I kiss him hard and when he opens his lips just slightly I take it as an invitation and slide my tongue into his mouth. I twirl my tongue around his and he groans quietly.

He slows the kiss and then gently pulls back. "Damn, Bella, what's gotten into you today?" he asks with a laugh.

I step back and smile and lightly back-hand his chest, "That would be you, Mr. Cullen," I joke.

"Where are you going?" Edward growls as he grabs me by the waist and keeps our middles flush.

"Nowhere, Baby," I smile and look up to see his mouth set in a hard line. "What's wrong?" I ask softly and reach up and gently rub my hand along the closely shaved side of his head. Edward leans into my hand and inhales deeply… and then exhales.

"I need you," he whispers.

"Baby, you have me," I whisper back. I raise my other hand to the other side of his head and lean up to sweetly kiss his lips. His arms wrap around me tightly as he holds me in our kiss. He places small kisses on each of my lips and buries his head in my neck while hugging me tight. "Edward," I murmur, "tell me what's wrong."

He pulls back, but keeps a hold of my waist. He shakes his head and then cocks it to the side, "I should have kept you up in our room all day."

"What?" I ask slightly surprised with his response.

"That way I wouldn't have to share you with _anyone_," he says like a child who had to share his favorite toy.

"Let's send everyone home and you and I go upstairs," I offer.

"You'd do that? You'd send away my Mom and Emmett because I don't want to share you?" Edward questions skeptically raising an eyebrow at me.

"Yes," I state in all seriousness, "If you need me _that_ bad, I'm willing to ask them to leave. And you know what? I think they'd understand." Edward looks down at the floor and immediately lifts his face back up to look into mine, "Baby, when will you get it…" I falter for a second fighting the lump that is growing in my throat, "There isn't anything that I wouldn't do for you." Edward kisses me again, this time is more intense than the last, and he squeezes me against him just as hard.

When I can no longer breath, I pull away gasping for air. Edward immediately looks forlorn, "I'm sorry," he whispers.

"Edward, its' ok," I try to reassure him. "Is this really just about missing me, because it really seems like so much more than that?"

"Fuck, Bella," he grumbles, "Al I want is to hold you, but every time I touch you… I want more. And then I feel like an ass because all I want is to take you to bed."

"Why do you feel like an ass?" I ask feeling confused because whenever we are reunited we always have tons and tons of sex.

"It's just… well… you have been through so much while I was gone this time and it really pisses me off that I wasn't here to protect you or take care of you. I feel fucking guilty and now that I'm home I don't want to let you out of my sight." He puts his lips back onto my neck and bites me gently, "And then you look so fucking hot dressed like this that I can barely stand it."

"Why don't we head outside and relax?" I offer.

"Ok," he smiles, "Can you do me a favor?" Edward asks.

"Sure," I smile back at him.

"Take off those fuck-hot boots," he growls and I laugh.

"That's it?" I ask.

"Mmmhmmm," he nods. I step over to the kitchen table and hold the edge for balance. I look back over my shoulder and glance at Edward, quickly noticing that he isn't taking his eyes off of me. I bend at the waist, knowing my skirt will ride up slightly and unzip the sides of each of my boots. I toe my way out of my heels and step onto the cool tile floor and shiver. In a flash, Edward is behind me wrapping his arms around my waist. I feel his erection pressing against my ass through his jeans and decide to reach back and wrap my arms around his the back of his neck. "Bella, can you feel what you do to me?" he asks, punctuating his question by pushing his erection harder into my back-side.

I can't help but push my ass back into him and sway my hips gently side to side, rubbing myself across his hard cock. His lips crash into my neck and I sigh, "I would say I'm sorry but I'm not." I pry myself out of his arms and turn to face him. "We need to go outside," I tell him and then grab his hands and pull him out the French doors. I can't help but smile as Edward starts dragging his feet.

"Do we _have_ to?" he whines.

"Yes," I order. "Why don't you go check and see if the grill needs cleaned before dinner." Edward nods, kisses my cheek and walks over to the grill. I turn around and see that Emmett has started a fire in the fire pit and is sitting on the outdoor sofa, drinking his beer. "I'm gonna go to talk to Em about Rosalie," I tell Edward.

"Okay," he smiles, "I'll be over in a minute."

... (-\/-) ... (-\/-) ... (-\/-) ...

"Ok, Em, spill it," I order as I take me seat next to him in front of the newly lit fire.

Emmett looks at me out of the corner of his eye and a small smile comes to his lips. "Well," he begins quietly, "she's great, ya know. She's smart and funny and _sexy_ as hell."

"You e-mailed her while you were gone, right?" I ask being pretty sure that he had. He nods. "Have you talked to her since you've been home?"

"Yeah," and I swear he sighs like a love-sick school boy, "I called her this morning."

"AND?" I ask just a little too loudly. Edward looks over at us from the grill and I lean in and nudge Emmett with my shoulder. Emmett glances at my face and when my eyes lead over to Edward, Emmett laughs and I can't help but smile.

"Well, I asked her to come out for Christmas, because she can't make Thanksgiving and she said she would try," he shakes his head slightly and his normally jovial expression hardens just slightly.

"What is it?"

Emmett looks away from me and towards Edward, "I think she's scared to commit to me."

"Is it the distance?" I ask afraid that my past actions may be influencing Rosalie's current decisions.

"It's that and it's the life…" he pauses for a second and swallows hard, "She's not sure she wants to start something this "real" (he actually makes the air quotes with his hands when he says real) with someone who's so far away and someone who is truly committed to something much larger than our relationship."

I gasp and ask, "Did she say all that?"

"She did." Emmett looks over at me and gives me his sweet half-smile, "I'm not giving up, Bella. Don't worry. There's something between us, I know there is. And hell, so does she. That's why she's so freaking scared." Emmett takes a pull of his beer and stretches his long legs out in front of him and then crosses them at his ankles.

"Sheesh Em… when did you become so insightful?" I tease.

Emmett leans himself back onto the couch so that he is slightly behind me. I have to turn almost all the way around to see his face and I find that he is smiling at me. "Bella, if it wasn't for me, Eddie-boy over there would never have gotten on that plane to come and get you."

I nod my head, "I know and I will always be grateful for all that you have done for me and Edward."

"You should know me well enough by now," he winks, "you know that I'm pretty easy going and most of the time I enjoy the simplicity of things. Have you ever wondered why?" I shake my head no and he continues, "My job is intensely demanding. Everything about me has to be honed perfectly for me to excel in my career and I try like hell to _excel in my career_. But, when I'm home and I can relax and be carefree… like I am right now."

"That makes sense," I concede. "Edward tells me all the time that there's no one else in the world he'd rather work with. And the fact that _he_," I nod toward Edward, "wants you here with us, after being gone for two months, speaks volumes."

"You guys are my family, Bells," he says sweetly and then laughs, "You're stuck with me!"

I can't help but laugh with Emmett and I'm thankful that he lightened the mood.

I jump slightly when a warm hand touches my shoulder. "What's so funny?" Edward asks. I feel the warmth of his body as he steps closer to mine. I turn and look up at him and smile. He smiles back, but when it doesn't reach his eyes, I can tell that he's trying hard to not be jealous of the time that I'm spending with Emmett.

"The fact that we are never going to be able to get rid of Emmett," I say dryly.

"Yeah, I know," Edward sighs sarcastically, "We are stuck with him."

Edward takes the seat on the other side of me. He angles himself behind me s that he can see Emmett, basically mirroring Emmett's position on the couch. I lean back into Edward's body and immediately have to prop my legs up on Emmett's to avoid flashing him.

"Yeah, just like we are stuck with Alice and Jasper," I laugh.

"Pretty much," Edward agrees.

"Where is everyone?" I ask, just realizing that Esme, Alice and Jasper were all missing.

"Mom went back to her hotel to change and will be back any minute and I'm not sure where Alice and Jasper are. I haven't heard from them since we left the restaurant," Edward tells me. "When Mom gets back I will see when she wants to eat and go from there."

"Ok," I smile as I lean back further into Edward. He wraps his arms around me and I sigh wistfully.

"Well, hell, you two suck," Emmett teases.

"Sorry, Em," Edward snaps, "You've had her to yourself for a while now. I'm sick of sharing."

"Oh, come one Eddie-boy," Emmett leans up and pulls my legs across his lap. "You know I just need Bella's help with Rosie."

"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya," Edward acts like he's blowing Emmett off.

"It's not like _your_ any help," Emmett jokes back and I can't help but giggle at their very girly conversation.

"So," I but in, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to call keep trying to get to know her." Emmett smiles at me, "I sent her flowers today and she sent me text telling me that she loved them." He looks over my shoulder at Edward and grins, "Man, I just want what you two have, that's all. I want to be able to hold my girl when I want. I want to drool over her when she looks sexy for me. I want to love and be loved. I want the dream, Eddie-boy."

Before Edward and I can respond Jasper's voice breaks into our comfortable moment, "What in the hell is going on out here?" I look over to see Jaspers shocked face and Alice covering her enormous grin with both of her hands.

It takes me a second to realize what in the hell he's talking about. Then it hits me how this must look… The three of us are spread out on the outdoor sofa in front of a fire. I'm leaning back into Edward who has his arms around my middle and Emmett is sitting up with his hands resting on my shins that are sitting on his lap. Oh hell… my brother is a pervert!

"What do you think I'm doing, Jasper?" I snap at my brother.

"Well… shit… Bells… it's…" Jasper stutters.

And since I've been messing with Edward all night, I figure what the hell, let's mess with Jasper a bit, too. I sit up and spin myself quickly so that my body is facing forward. I look over at Emmett first and wink and he grins at me. Then I look at Edward and see that he is looking over at my brother scowling. "Baby," I coo and he snaps his head back to look at me. I put a hand on the top of his thigh and whisper so that only Edward can hear me, "let's have a little fun with Jasper." Edward's expression eases slightly and then he winks at me.

"_Well_, Jasper, this is OUR house," I begin and then place my free hand on Emmett's thigh, "And if we want to have some fun with Emmett than that's our business." Edward immediately scoots forward so that I am placed between his legs, drapes his hand across my lap and then rests his chin on my shoulder looking straight at my neck. Emmett follows his lead and scoots closer so that his thigh is touching mine. He throws his arm over my shoulder _and_ Edwards and then reaches over with his other and takes Edwards hand out of my lap and entwines their fingers and proceeds to hold his hand while letting it rest in my lap.

Jasper eyes literally bug out of his head. His face turns bright, bright red and looks like it's going to explode all over the courtyard.

"All right you three, knock it the fuck off before you make my husbands' head explode," Alice yells at us.

The three of us start laughing and Edward and Emmett quickly let go of one another and stand up laughing their asses off. Their laughter is contagious and soon Alice and I join in. Jasper on the other hand is nothing but angry.

"That wasn't cool" he snaps, "that's my sister, damn it."

"Fuck off," I laugh at Jasper.

Edward catches his breath and looks over at Jasper, "You know what Jasper? If anyone should be pissed off it should be me. I'm your best-friend, you've known me forever. You should know me better than that. You should know me well enough to know that I would never willingly share your sister with _anyone_. And it's really fucking insulting that you think so little of me and her for that matter."

Edward's demeanor has changed drastically and I can tell that if Jasper doesn't apologize all hell might break loose. I stand up next to Edward and take his hand into mind, hoping that my touch might soothe him. He pulls me to his side and wraps his arm around my neck and I wrap my arm around his back, while I hook my thumb into the belt-loop at the front of his jeans.

Jasper looks from me to Edward and then over us to Emmett. Alice steps to his side and says something under her breath that I can't quite make out.

"Guys," Jasper starts, "I'm sorry. I really fucked up. I do know better, but I just… fucking reacted." He shakes his head in frustration.

"Jazz," I smile at my brother, "no worries, I understand how it must have looked to you."

Jasper nods his head and then looks at Edward, "I'm sorry… I know better, I really do."

Edward doesn't say anything at first. It takes an uncomfortable silence before he actually speaks. "We WILL talk about this later," Edward says coldly. "But, right now, let's just relax."

Jasper looks shocked that Edward isn't willing to let it go. "Emmett, we cool?" Jasper asks.

"Yeah, I guess," Emmett laughs, "Looks like you're going to have fun dealing with a pissed off SEAL anyway, so there's no need for me to hold a grudge." Jasper's face pales when he realizes exactly what Emmett has said.

Jasper is saved by Esme walking loudly shutting the French doors behind her. We all shift slightly and look over at her. She quickly sizes up the situation by asking, "What did I miss?"

Alice quickly steps in, "Nothing, Mom, just boys being boys." Alice grabs Jaspers hand and pulls him back towards her.

Esme quickly walks over to stand in front her son and glares up at him. "Edward, I don't know what's going on. But, you better leave your brother-in-law alone."

"Ma…" Edward begins.

Esme's hands fly up to her hips as she shifts into to 'Mom mode'. "Shut it, Edward. A lot of ridiculous things have been said and even more ridiculous things have happened lately that have hurt our family. And right now, you're going to let whatever _stupid_ thing Jasper said go. AM I MAKING MYSELF CLEAR?"

Edward flinches when Esme raises her voice. "I understand," Edward sighs. "You didn't have to go and get all _parental_ on me." Edward flashes a grin at his Mother and I can't help but laugh at him trying to dazzle his own Mom.

Esme shakes her head and smiles, "Alright, _kids_… what are we going to do for dinner?"

"I thought we were grilling?" Edward asks his mother.

"Do we have everything we need?" Alice asks.

"Um, yeah, I think so," I begin as I pull myself away from Edward, "Let's go in and look."

Edward yanks me back towards him and kisses me on the lips. "Don't be long," he whispers.

"I won't be," I smile up at him and then kiss his chin. I extract myself from his grip and follow Alice and Esme into the kitchen.

I had just gone grocery shopping two days ago and I knew we had everything we needed to grill the chicken. Esme begins pulling the chicken and some other ingredients out of the fridge. She looks over at me and asks, "Do you have a something that we can marinate the chicken in?"

I walk over to the cabinet and pull out a large baking dish. "Will this work?" I ask holding up the glass dish.

Esme nods. I set the dish on the counter and watch as Esme begins to prepare the chicken. Alice comes to stand by me. "What else should we have?" she asks.

"I was thinking a salad after eating that cheeseburger today," I offer.

"Okay," she says quietly. "How long will it take for the chicken to marinate?" Alice asks Esme.

"I would say it should be ready to grill in about an hour," Esme replies.

"Alright," Alice smiles, "it seems like we have plenty of time. Bella," Alice turns to me, "why don't you go out and spend time with Edward?"

"Are you sure?" I ask.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure my Mom and I can handle it," she laughs as she puts her arm around Esme's shoulder.

"Okay," I smile and immediately turn and head back out to the guys. And I'm relieved to see the three of them sitting on the couch in front of the fire laughing. Edward looks up at me and his face lights up, melting my heart. I walk over and take a seat right next to him. He wraps his arm around my back and I lean into him and rest my head on his shoulder and listen to the guys talk.

"The funniest time was when Rocco dropped the tail of the Helo too low and we all almost had to bail the hell out of the RIB Emmett laughs.

"You laugh, because you were the one in the back on the engine. I was the one in the front of the boat," Edward grumbles.

"So," Jasper interjects, "explain how it works."

"Well," Edward begins, "sometimes we need to get out quickly and one of the ways we do that is by driving our RIB into the back of a helicopter."

"A helicopter?" Jasper questions. As I ask, "what the hell is a RIB?"

Emmett laughs, "RIB stands for Rigid Inflatable Boat. It's a rubber boat that's about thirteen feet long."

"And you drive a rubber boat into the back of helicopter?" Jasper asks with a disbelieving laugh.

Edward and Emmett just smile at him and nod.

"How?" I ask and then I lean up and kiss Edward's Adam's apple.

He squeezes my hip and then begins to explain, "The helicopter very big. It's called a Chinook and it has a ramp in the back to load and unload men, equipment and vehicles."

"Okaaaay," Jasper interrupts, "So how do you get a moving boat into the back of a helicopter?"

As Edward begins to explain, I begin rubbing my hands over his thigh. He tenses slightly for a second and then relaxes. "What the pilot does is take the Helo down almost to the water level and then let's the ramp down. Once the ramp is in the water he eases the back end down into the water, allowing water to come up and inside. When we get the ok we drive the RIB right up the ramp and inside. We quickly secure the boat and then we're gone."

Edward eases his hand under the hem up the back of my shirt and his cold hand makes me shiver. Between the fire and being around Edward I had forgotten how chilly the air had gotten. I turned my body so that we are chest to chest and lean up slightly and kiss his neck. I pause for a moment with my head under his chin and inhale. The sweet smell of Edward's sweat and the spicy scent of his cologne are mixed with the smoke from the fire. "You smell smoky," I whisper.

Edward laughs quietly causing his chest to shake a bit. "You alright with that?" he asks into the top of my head. I nod and relax further into him. The guys talk a bit longer about various things. But, I'm not really hearing what they are saying. I focus on Edward… his breath, his voice, his laugh, his cold fingers tracing small cool circles low on my back.

At some point Esme and Alice come out quickly grill the chicken and then call us inside for dinner. We all head inside and make our plates and then Edward and I sit down next to each other at the kitchen table and begin eating. Alice and Jasper sit across from us and Emmett pulls in a couple of chairs from the dining room for him and Esme. Jasper and Emmett immediately start chatting and laughing with Alice and Edward chiming in every once in a while with a comment or joke. I watch them all carefully as I eat and I am beyond happy to have them all here under the same roof with me.

Esme reaches over and gently touches my arm. I look over at her and she asks, "Are you ok?"

I smile and nod. "I'm great," I answer quietly. Her expression is puzzled as she tries to reconcile my expression with my words. "I'm just taking them all in," I try to explain further and nod towards the others sitting with us at the table. Esme smiles and her hazel eyes light up and I can see that she gets it.

I turn and scoot my chair closer to Edwards. I lean over, resting my head on his shoulder and drape an arm across his leg and rest my hand directly on his crotch. He tilts his head so that his cheek is against the top of my head and then places his hand on top of mine and pushes down gently. He shifts his hips forward slowly and leans back just a bit into the chair. I spend the next few minutes squeezing his hardening dick through his jeans.

Emmett stands up and takes his dishes to the sink and then comes and kisses Esme on the cheek. "Momma C that was delicious!" he bellows. "I think I'm going to head on back," he continues.

I stand and give him a hug, "Nite, Em."

"Thanks for putting up with me, Bells," he grins down at me and then kisses my cheek. He says his good-byes to the rest of the table and then Edward walks him down to the garage.

Jasper and Alice begin to clear the table and Esme and I start putting the little bit of left-over's away in the fridge. Jasper eventually sneaks out of the kitchen and heads back out to the courtyard. When Edward comes back into the kitchen he asks, "Do you ladies need any help?"

We all say no. Edward walks over and leans his head down on my shoulder. "Where's Jazz?" he asks.

"In the courtyard," I tell him.

"I'm gonna go bust his balls for a minute," he laughs, slaps my butt and then hurries outside before I can retaliate.

Once we finish in the kitchen we all head back out to the courtyard. Edward and Jazz look to be having a fairly intense conversation. Edwards' brow is furrowed and Jaspers mouth is set in a hard line while Edward talks in a hurried, hushed voice.

I have a pretty good idea what they are talking about, but I'm not in the mood for serious conversations. "Hey, baby?" I ask wanting to get Edwards attention.

He looks up at me and smiles, "What's up?"

"I'm tired and I think I'm gonna head up to bed," I say loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Alright, Love, I will be up soon," he winks at me.

"Ok," I smile back at him. "Goodnight, guys," I say to the rest of the crew and then head up the stairs to bed.

Once I make it up stairs, I realize that I am pretty tired. I yawn as I pull my shirt up and over my head and throw it on the chair beside the bed. I pull my skirt down and let it fall to the floor and then crawl my way up the bed. I make it to the head of the bed and plop down on my back, close my eyes and take a deep breath. As I exhale I open my eyes to see Edward leaning against the frame of our bedroom door with his arms crossed across his chest.

"Hi," I say quietly. "How long have you been standing there?"

He pushes of from the door and begins to walk my way. "Since you took off your shirt," he winks at me and then pulls his own shirt off and then throws it at me, landing on me, covering my face. Before I can pull the shirt away I feel the bed dip down on both sides of my legs. I grin knowing that Edward is above me and he has no intention of letting me go to sleep. The bed dips down again, this time near my shoulders. I throw the t-shirt off the bed and look up to see Edward smirking down at me. "Did you really think that I was going to let you off the hook?"

"I don't know what you mean…" I look up at him and bite my bottom lip, playing coy.

Edward doesn't say another word. His mouth crashes into mine, his hands frame my face while he continues to support his weight on his elbows. His tongue pushes inside my mouth and I immediately push back with my own. I push my hips up into his and I can feel that he is already hard for me. He shifts himself so that he is on his side next to me. He immediately disposes of my bra, pulling the straps down my shoulders and pushing the satiny cups off my breasts. Edward breaks our kiss and begins kissing his way towards my ear. He pauses there for a second and whispers, "I want to fuck you." I can't help but moan. He continues kissing down my throat to my breast. He licks and swirls my nipple with his tongue and I immediately want him between my legs.

"Please," I groan without a thought.

"Please what?" Edward asks and then immediately sucks my nipple harder into his mouth.

"Fuck me, please… fuck me," I growl through gritted teeth. Edward groans against my skin in reply and then reaches down and quickly divests me of my panties. He throws them away from the bed and then moves over me again. I move my legs to either side of his sculpted body and he sits back slightly on his knees.

His hands come to rest on my thighs and he smiles as he runs his hands up and down my legs. "You were relentless today," he growls. His green eyes are filled with want and I can't help but squirm under his powerful gaze and deft fingers. "You are so beautiful," he grins at me and then leans forward and kisses me just below my belly-button. Edward begins to work his way up my body, kissing every few inches or so. He stops when his head is between my breasts and smirks up at me, "And you looked so fucking hot today." I can't help but smile back at him. He abandons my chest and comes back to my lips. He had been hovering just above me, but he relaxed as kissed me and I delight in the sensation of his warm, strong body resting on top of mine. He pulls back slightly and positions himself at my entrance, reaching down to guide the head of his rigid erection between my engorged lips and spreading my wetness over his cock. Edward groans when I wrap my legs around his waist and pull him against me, desperately trying to get him inside of me.

He doesn't hold back any longer and easily pushes himself inside of me. We groan in unison when he slides almost completely out. "Baby, please," I whine and locks my legs around him. He takes the hint and immediately slams back into me. He begins to set a brutal pace that I can barely keep up with and when I think that I just can't take it anymore his thrusting slows.

Edward kisses me gently and nibbles at my bottom lip and eventually my jaw all the while he continues rhythmically making love to me. His hands gently come up and cradle my face. He looks into my eyes and kisses me with his eyes open. He pulls away and smiles, "I love you," he says quietly. He's moving slowly against me and I feel pressure begin to rise in my belly.

I can't help but groan his name and then tell him, "I love you." I begin to push harder against him, chasing the building orgasm. Edward notices my shift and creates enough space between us to slip his hand between us and begins to rub quick circles around my clit, bringing me that much closer. When he lifts his lips back to mine and kisses me, that's all it takes to send me crashing over the edge. I cum and I cum hard around his cock. I can feel my pussy pulsating and squeezing his cock. Edward begins to push into me frantically. "Fuck," he growls as cums, slamming his hips into me one last time. He stays still for a bit, while we both catch our breath.

Edward slowly pulls out and rolls onto his side next to me. He pulls the blankets up and over us and then rests his on my shoulder, while he draping his arm across my waist, his legs touching mine. "I love you," he whispers, "good night."

"I love you, too," I sigh and drift off to sleep.

... (-\/-) ... (-\/-) ... (-\/-) ...

Unfortunately, I have to work on Thursday and Friday. But, the cool thing is that Edward decides that he's going to be my driver and takes me to and from school. Edward suggests to me on our way home Friday night that we go out to dinner Saturday evening. When I want to invite Alice and Jasper along Edward insists that he just wants me all to himself. I easily let it go, because there's nothing I want more than alone time with my baby.

When I wake up Saturday morning Edward is nowhere to be found. I get up and head downstairs in nothing but my robe, hoping to find Edward drinking his coffee in the kitchen or the courtyard. Instead, I find a note stuck to the fridge.

_Bella,_

_Ran to the store to pick up some things for breakfast. Hopefully, I will be back before you get up._

_Love you,_

_E_

I decide t make myself a cup of tea and then settle into the couch in the family room. I sip my tea and then turn on the TV and flip through the channels until I finally settle on an old black and white Sherlock Holmes movie. I pull the chenille throw off of the back of the couch and cover myself up while I curl up underneath the soft blanket. The movie eventually lulls me to sleep and I wake up when I feel a warm body sliding in behind me.

Edward rests his head against the back of mine. His nose is at the base of my neck and his warm breath tickles down the my back. "Hey," I whisper.

He pulls the blanket up and wraps it around the two of us, his arms coming to rest over my side. "Hi," he whispers back.

"Did you get what we needed?" I ask.

He nods and kisses the back of my neck. "Go back to sleep, Love," he sighs.

I try to sleep, but I can't help but want to roll Edward over and lick my way down his body. I think about it for a minute, but when I hear that Edward's breathing has deepened and evened out, I decide to let him sleep. I concentrate on his breathing and easily fall back to sleep myself.

I wake up and I can't breathe. Edward has rolled most of his body on top of me and his weight is crushing me. "Edward," I say as I try and shake him awake by shifting my body. He doesn't budge. "EDWARD," I say it again, a little louder this time. This time he groans slightly and shifts so that his upper body has moved just enough off of mine so that I can finally take a deep breath. But, his arm is cinched around my waist and his heavy, muscular leg is draped over mine, making it impossible for me to get up. "EDWARD!" I yell this time, and Edward immediately snaps his head up and looks around completely startled.

"Wha… what's wrong?" he asks groggily as he rubs his eyes.

"I need to get up," and I can't help but smile at his sleepy face. Edward yawns and pulls his arms and legs back, allowing me to escape.

I get up off of the couch to head to the bathroom, when Edward asks, "What time is it?"

I glance at the clock in the kitchen and tell him, "Noon."

Edward asks, "You hungry? We slept through breakfast."

"Sure, what were you planning on making earlier?" I pause by the stairs and wait for his answer.

"French toast," he smiles knowing his French toast is my absolute favorite breakfast. He uses cinnamon, nutmeg and all-spice in the batter and then, after it's cooked, he covers them with cut up strawberries and powdered sugar.

"Sounds great, baby," I smile and dash away.

When I make it back to the kitchen I'm welcomed by the sweet, heavenly scent of Edward's French toast cooking on the stove and the sight of Edward's gorgeous muscular back. He's at the stove humming away as he makes our breakfast. I walk up behind him, set my hands up on his strong shoulders and then gently slide my hands down the taught muscles in his back and then around his waist, wrapping my arms around him. I kiss the middle of his back and then lean my head against his him. "It's almost ready, Love. Do you want to set the table?" I nod and slowly pull away from him and walk over to gather the plates and silverware and take them to the kitchen table.

We sit and eat Edward's delicious breakfast in relative silence. We talk a little about Esme buying her "cottage" and a little about Alice and Jasper living downstairs. I realize that I haven't told him about what happened with Alice and Jasper in high school, but I really think it is their story to tell. After we finish eating we start cleaning up the kitchen together. We work quietly and efficiently getting it clean in a matter of minutes.

"Are we still going out tonight?" I ask, a little unsure since we hadn't really talked about since the day before.

"Absolutely," Edward looks up at me and grins.

"What time are we going?"

"We have reservations at 'the Brig' for 7:00. Is that alright?" Edward grins and raises an eyebrow at me.

I smile and nod. Edward and I both love "the Brig" as we like to call it. There are several Brigantine Seafood restaurants scattered around San Diego and we are lucky enough to have one down the road, across the street from Hotel del Coronado.

We spend the rest of the afternoon doing miscellaneous things around the house. I clean out the butlers' pantry, vacuum the downstairs and clean the downstairs bathroom, while Edward washes and details our cars. Around 5:00 I head upstairs to begin getting ready for our night out.

I pick out a pair of black, leather four-inch stiletto heels, a dressy pair of boot-cut, dark-washed blue jeans, purple, silk, racer-back tank that has tuxedo pleating down the front and ties on the side, a pair of black lace boy-shorts and matching black lace bra. I head to the bathroom and proceed to shower. Once I'm out of the shower I finish getting ready and get dressed. I decide to straighten my fairly long, normally wavy, chestnut brown hair. It takes me good forty minutes to get it all done. I apply my make-up, putting it on a little heavier than when I go to work. I check my reflection in the mirror and I immediately like what I have done. I put away all the things I have gotten out and then walk over to my closet to grab my shoes, a small black clutch and my cropped, black leather jacket.

As I make my down the stairs, I bump into Edward. "Hello, beautiful," he says appreciatively as he sweetly takes me in.

"Hi," I smile, blushing. "You going to get ready?" I reach forward and wrap my index finger around one of the belt-loops in his beat-up blue jeans.

"Yep," he smiles back. He leans in and kisses my quickly and then pulls away, out of my grasp, "I won't be long."

I continue my way down the stairs and take a seat in the family room. I put my jacket down and clutch down on the arm of the couch and put on my shoes. I knew it would only take Edward about fifteen minutes to get ready. Twenty if he decides to shave. So, I decide to look through a few of the magazines while I wait.

I startle when Edward asks, "Ready to go, Love?"

"Yep," I answer and get up of the couch. I turn to see Edward wearing a mostly gray and black plaid shirt that has small striations of purple and red throughout, black jeans, black leather boots and a black leather jacket. After looking him over I ask, "Did you do that on purpose?" pointing back and forth between our clothes.

Edward looks back and forth between us and laughs, "Not on purpose." Edward looks down at his watch and tells me, "We need to go now." He picks up my jacket and holds it open for me. I push my arms into the jacket and once my back is completely turned to him he whispers in my ear, "Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?"

I shake my head no, trying not to blush. Edward turns me to face him and smiles down at me, "You are beautiful," he says quietly and then leans in and kisses my lips sweetly. Edward pulls away and takes my hand and leads me downstairs to the Volvo.

... (-\/-) ... (-\/-) ... (-\/-) ...

Brigantine Seafood is a very short ride away and we are only in the car for 5 minutes. Edward finds a parking spot around the side of the white building and quickly jumps out to open my door. He offers me his hand as I get out. I take it and smile, loving how sweet he is being to me. We head inside and Edward gives them our name. We are a tad early so we take a seat at large horseshoe shaped bar that sits in the middle of the restaurant. The Brig has dark wood coffered ceilings, with the same dark wood, raised-paneled walls. The exposed ceiling is painted a warm cream, while any exposed wall are a buttery yellow. There are two-tone mica light fixtures and sconces throughout the restaurant, with a touch of red and gold stained-glass above each of the windows. The atmosphere is very warm and inviting.

We just barely get comfortable at the bar when the hostess comes over to take us to our table. She leads us to a quiet table in the back corner of the restaurant. Edward and I take our seat and before we can start talking our waiter is asking for our drink order. Edward orders a beer and I order a dirty martini.

"So, did you and Jazz make up last night?" I started the conversation.

"You know," Edward shakes his head and rubs his face, "after last night I'm not sure what the hell is up with your brother."

I'm a little shocked by his response, "What do you mean?"

"Well, his gross over-reaction to me, you and Emmett for one thing. And then after dinner he tells me why Alice is having trouble getting pregnant. I really don't understand how my entire family was able to keep that secret from me for all these years."

"Did he tell you that they _just_ told me, too?"

"Yes, he did and I also know that there hasn't been any time for us to talk about it."

"I don't think I would have told you, though." I pause for a moment when Edward cocks his head to the side, "I think I would have taken you to them and let them tell _their_ story."

"Oh, all this shit with Jasper, just makes me feel like I don't know my best-friend very well anymore," he finishes the last bit of his sentence quietly.

"I think if you would have seen how badly Alice was beating herself up about the past, you might feel differently."

"I guess we should talk to them about it," he reaches across the table and takes my hand. "Do you still want to have a baby?" he asks quietly.

"Yes, I do," I smile. "I still want two. I would love a boy and a girl, but I definitely want two. You still good with that?"

Edward nod and says, "Absolutely." We both smile at each other for a moment until the waiter interrupts us. We order our meals: I order the Swordfish with a bacon-bleu cheese potato and fresh vegetables and Edward orders the Rib-eye with the same sides.

"We haven't had a chance to talk about what will happen when I deploy in January," Edward starts the conversation this time.

"You've only been home a few days," I smile.

"Right," he chuckles. "Well, when we leave next time we will be in South-East Asia for six months. We will be able to communicate pretty much like we did this last time."

"That's good," I sigh, not liking the idea of him leaving me for six months.

"But before we leave I have to meet with my detailer about where I will be stationed when I get back. The last time I talked to him I had two options here in San Diego and one in Virginia. To me, Virginia is not an option. I had planned on staying with my crew here in San Diego for a couple more years. The other San Diego option was to go on shore duty and become a BUDs instructor. And the way it looks right now, I would be on shore duty until I get out."

"What do you _want_ to do?" I ask quietly.

"I want to be with you," he squeezes my hand, "and that means shore duty."

"And you're going to be ok with that?" I questions seriously. "I don't want you giving up what you love to make me happy."

"I will still be a SEAL. I will just be training new SEALs."

"Are you sure?" The last thing I wanted was for him to change his career and the come to regret it.

He smiles gently and then leans down to kiss the palm of my hand. "Bella, there's nothing I want more than to be with you. You are the reason why I do everything I do. The reason I train hard, the reason I stay close with my men… it's so that I can come back home to you. You are the reason behind _EVERYTHING_ I do."

"I love you, baby," I take a deep breath and smile, not wanting to start crying.

Edward gets up from his chair and leans over the table and looks directly into my eyes, "And I love you, Isabella." He leans his head down just so and I tip my face up to meet his. We kiss for a moment and then Edward pulls away with a sigh and sits back in his chair.

"I have another question…" he says before his butt hits the seat.

"Ok, let's hear it."

"Do you want me to stay in the Navy?"

"You love it don't you?"

"Yes, I do. But, I don't have to do it forever. I am almost at the 10 year mark and I need to make a decision on whether or not I will re-enlist."

"If you re-enlist how long will you stay in?"

"I would probably stay in for another ten years and then retire."

"Wow," I blurt out. "Twenty years… Will you have to go back to sea duty in that time?"

"Yes, I would. We would more than likely stay here in San Diego, but I would have to go back to sea duty."

The thought of Edward leaving me and our children breaks my heart. "Edward, I don't think I could handle you leaving when we have kids. I'm sorry, but I don't think I could do that to them."

"I understand. We just needed to talk about it before I make any decisions. I want to make a plan with you about our future… we need to do it together."

I nod my head in agreement, "Absolutely."

"So, shore duty here and no re-enlistment?" Edward asks with wide, unsure eyes.

"As long as you are absolutely certain," I look at him and I'm amazed at how easy this conversation has been. Three years ago, he refused to talk to me about anything regarding his job.

"I am," he smiles.

Our waiters timing is perfect. He brings our food just as we finish our conversation. We are quiet while we eat. I give him half of my swordfish and he gives me a third of his steak. It doesn't take me long to feel full, but Edward continues to eat at a steady pace.

I watch him take a few bites of food and when he looks up at me I ask, "Have you thought about what you will do when you get out?"

He shakes his head no and furrows his brow a bit, "No, not really. I'm not really that worried about it."

"Really? Why?" I ask. If I were to ever think about walking away from my career I would have to seriously weigh all of my options, whatever they may be.

"Well… I am, I mean _WE_ are in a situation where we don't have to worry about money now or ever really," he answers nonchalantly with a shoulder shrug.

"What do you mean? How is that possible?" I knew Edward had come into quite a bit of money last year, but I figured our house had absorbed most of it.

"You know that Alice and I inherited some money last year, right?" I nod yes and then he continues, "My Mom was an only child. My Grandmother died when she was very young and she was raised by my Grandfather. They were very close until my Mom started dating my Dad. At first things were fine because Dad was going to be a surgeon, but when he changed his specialty to plastic surgery my Grandfather thought that it was 'frivolous and unacceptable'. He forbade my Mom from seeing my Dad, which obviously didn't work. When my parents got married Grandfather refused to come and things continued that way until I was born. When he heard that Mom was pregnant things changed and they eventually mended their severed relationship. Right before our family moved from Chicago to Jacksonville, my Grandfather bought a vineyard in France and moved away. He lived there until he died last summer leaving his entire estate to Alice and me." He stops for second and takes a drink of his beer.

"What all did he leave you?" I ask surprised by this whole story. I knew Esme had a difficult relationship with her father but I never knew the details before.

"He left us A LOT of property and I mean A LOT, several cars, a private jet," Edward looks at me and then steadies himself by taking a deep breath, "and then we had to divide 2.2 billion dollars between the two of us."

"What? I don't think I heard you right," I'm trying not to choke on the air that I'm breathing, but he surely did not say the word 'billion'.

Edward chuckles a little and then reaches for my hand, "I'm pretty sure you heard me correctly."

"When you Alice told me you guys had inherited some money, I thought maybe a few thousand. And then when you told me you used your inheritance to by the house I figured that the money had to be close to gone. I would have never guessed…"

"I know. When the lawyers told us how much money we would be splitting Alice about fainted and I choked and about threw up." He laughs again and shakes my hand, "it doesn't change anything love, I promise."

"Oh come on, it does change some things," I wink at him, "just not me and you."

Edward smiles, "I will have to go over all of the financials with you before I leave in January. That way you know what's what."

"Okay," I whisper. I've been so happy just to have Edward back in my life. All of this other stuff is just absolutely, unbelievably ridiculous.

As we get close to finishing dinner Edward asks, "Do you want to go to Nado Gelato for dessert?"

"Sure," I say. "What do you think about getting it to go and taking it back to the house?" He doesn't look thrilled about the idea. "We could sit out on the rocks and listen to the ocean?" I say with a little more enthusiasm trying to get my way.

"The beach sounds better," he concedes.

"Great," I smile. The waiter comes and asks if we would like dessert and we decline. He takes some plates and away and then quickly returns with our check. Edward pays and then we head out to the Volvo. Nado Gelato is just around the corner and we consider walking, but then decide against it.

Nado's is small coffee and gelato shop that makes all its' gelato by hand, daily. There are over 40 different flavors and everyone I have had is absolutely delicious. Then there's their coffee… it's beyond delicious! Edward orders me my absolute favorite thing: a cappuccino with a cup of Canella (cinnamon) gelato. And then he orders a cup of strawberry for himself.

We quickly head back to the car with our gelato and are back at the house in five minutes. Edward takes my coffee and the gelato and waits for me at the front door, while I quickly dash in up the stairs and change into my favorite pair of short Uggs. We head out the front door and walk across the street to sit on the rocks. Edward climbs up first, cappuccino in hand, and then turns and takes the gelato from me and sets it down and quickly offers me his hands. It would normally annoy me because I am more than capable of climbing over these rocks. But, tonight it's fine. I take his help and easily make my way up and take a seat next to him. We sit shoulder to shoulder, quietly eating our gelato and sharing my cappuccino.

We finish our dessert, Edward leans over asks, "Want to walk the beach a bit?" in my ear.

"Sure," I smile and give him a quick kiss.

"Alright, let's go!" Edward quickly stands up and jumps down off the rocks onto the sand and turns around to face me with a big grin across his face, "Come on beautiful," he says excitedly. His smile is infectious and I can't help but smile back as I climb down a rock and then jump down to stand next to him. As we begin to walk towards the ocean he throws his arm over my shoulder and asks, "Did you enjoy yourself tonight?"

"Yes, baby," I put my arm around his waist and squeeze him to me, "everything was great, thank you."

He kisses the side of my head and sighs, "Any time, Love. Any time."

... (-\/-) ... (-\/-) ... (-\/-) ...

We walk out to the water's edge and Edward spins me around to face him. "I've never been so happy," he smiles and pulls me against him. Edward's eyes are twinkling in the moonlight and he almost looks like he's on the verge of crying. He leans down and kisses me tenderly on the lips. I wrap my arms around his waist and savor the tenderness. When he finally pulls away, he startles me and picks me up and twirls me around.

I giggle like a loon as he puts my legs over his arm and begins carrying me away from the water like a bride being carried over a threshold. He suddenly falls to the sand, landing on his butt and settling me on his lap, still laughing. "What is so funny?" I ask, wondering what the hell has gotten into him.

"I have something for you," he grins.

"Oh yeah, what would that be?" I grin back and raise my eye-brows suggestively.

"It's in the inside pocket of my jacket. Do you want to get it?" He asks quirking an eyebrow back at me.

"Absolutely," I smile. I reach into his jacket and immediately find what I'm looking for. I gasp, knowing that I'm holding a ring box in my hand. I look up at him and his grin has softened to a gentle smile.

"Isabella," he begins in a hushed voice, "I've loved you most of my life and I will know that I will _never_ stop loving you. You are the reason that I'm here, the reason that I'm in one piece. You are my best-friend in the entire world and I want you to be my wife. I want you to be mine forever. Marry me? Be my wife? Be my forever?"

With every word, my heart swells. And when he asks me to marry him, my breath catches in my throat. I have no doubts that this is what I want… a forever with Edward. "Yes, baby, I will marry you," I exhale. I wrap my arms around his neck and his wrap around my back. "I love you, Edward Cullen," I smile as I lean in and kiss him.

He pulls back just slightly and whispers, "I love you, too," against my lips. We sit there in the sand kissing when Edward jerks away, "Don't you want to see the ring?" he asks excitedly.

"Haven't I seen it before?" I ask, thinking it's the same engagement ring that I had before.

Edward shakes his head no and then takes the ring box from my hand and opens it and then turns it around so I can look inside the small, velvet box. I can't see the finer details in of the ring, but I can see that it's a very large round diamond that is surrounded by a ring of much smaller diamonds. The band has diamonds set into it, but I can't really make out any of the finer details. "Oh, baby, it's beautiful," I feel a tear roll down my cheek.

"You can't even see it," he teases me.

"From what I can see, I know it's too much and absolutely amazing."

Edward pulls me back into him and pecks my cheek, "I love you."

I turn my face to his and kiss him on his lips. The kiss slowly deepens. Our mouths open and our tongues begin to languidly move against one another. We sit on the beach for a while enjoying our kiss and reveling our moment.

We walk back to the house hand in hand. I can't help but finger the new metal band on my left ring-finger with my thumb. Smiling, I lean my head against Edward's shoulder and sigh. I can't believe what a perfect day today has been.

Edward nudges me towards the boulders, "Let's climb over here." I follow his lead, trudging my way through the soft, cool sand. "Here," he points to a lower boulder. He pulls my in front of him and places his hands on my hips and lifts me up to stand on the rocks. "Careful, Love," he says quietly. It would normally annoy me, but tonight it's sweet that he's so concerned with my safety.

When I reach the top I turn around to look out at the star-lit sky, facing the deep black expanse of the Pacific Ocean. And I'm amazed at how my life has changed in such a short period of time. Three months ago, I was set to marry Jacob, even though I was still in love with Edward. Three months ago I lived across the country and I thought I was happy. I think I would have been content married to Jake, living the life we had carefully created with each other. Jake was a great friend and a good man. And I'm sorry that I hurt him.

But, he isn't Edward. He never needed me the way Edward needs me. He never _had_ to have me. Edward and I need each other. Yes, we can survive without one another. We have proven that. But, we were never really whole until we came back together. Edward and I have worked so hard to figure this crazy Navy life out. Between the crazy women and deploying, it hasn't been easy. But I think we are finally getting the hang of it. I know now, that he isn't choosing _anything_ over me. His job is demanding and dangerous. But, having me in his life makes him sharper… clearer… better. I am his reason to make it home. I am his reason to make sure his squad is the best at what they do. And because I am his focus, he is mine.

Edward is the reason this is all worth it. The joy of having Edward home is worth the agony of his leaving. The ecstasy of having Edward in my arms is worth the blinding pain of not knowing if he's safe when he's gone.

Edward's arms wrapping around my waist pull me out of my revelry. He leans down and rests his chin on my shoulder. "I love you," he whispers into my neck.

I tilt my head, against his and smile, "I love you, too."

... (-\/-) ... (-\/-) ... (-\/-) ...

"You ready to head in?" he asks quietly.

"Yeah," I sigh. I don't really want to. Tonight has been the most perfect night ever and I'm afraid that once we go inside it's going to somehow be tainted. "I'm a little cold." I turn in his arms and wrap mine around his waist. I go up onto my tip-toes and kiss his lips.

He kisses my cheek and then turns and jumps down from the boulders and onto the sidewalk. When he turns around to face me he's grinning at me, "Come on, Love," he raises both of his hands up to me and I lean down and place my hands into his. He helps guide me down the rocks until I am standing in front of him on the sidewalk. He kisses my forehead and then takes my hand and leads me across the street to our house.

As we make our way up the steps that lead to our front patio, I'm startled by Emmett sitting on the wicker settee. I can't help but gasp in surprise and step back into Edward. Edward protectively pulls me into his side, and when he realizes who it is he quickly asks, "What the hell are you doing here, man?"

Emmett doesn't speak and he barely flinches at the sound of Edwards voice. Edward and I walk over to stand in front f Emmett and I'm immediately saddened by what I see. Emmett's normally happy face is anything but. His mouth is set to a hard straight line, his eyes are puffy and blood-shot and his cheeks are tear-stained.

I kneel down in front of him, placing both of my hands on his knees, and make eye contact. Emmett looks at me and I quietly ask, "Em, what's going on?"

He shakes his head, looks up at Edward and then back at me, "She doesn't want me," he whispers.

Oh hell… what has Rosalie done now?

**.**

**a/n: I hope it was worth the wait... **

**.**

**.**

**I am so sorry that it took me two weeks to update. I went on an impromptu vacation with my Mother-in-Law and four young and energetic boys. I was able to keep writing, but not nearly as much as I had planne on. Anyway... it's done and I hope to get ch13 out next Wednesday... I have been posting pics on my blog and been posting chapter statuses there. It is helping me when I hit the blocks.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**Thanks again for reading and pretty please with a cherry on top, drop me review and let me know how I'm doing...**


	14. Chapter 13

**I do not own Twilight or it's characters... but I really, really like playing with them...**

**.**

**a/n: sorry it's been so long... thanks for hanging in there with me...**

**.**

**I have lots of excuses that I'm sure you could care less about... so here we go...**

**.**

"Emmett, come inside," I whisper, looking up into his sad blue eyes. Emmett looks at me and then up to Edward who is now standing behind me.

"Come on, man," Edward quietly encourages.

Emmett nods and I stand up and take Edward's hand as we go inside the house with Em in tow. Once inside I lead the way into the family room and take a seat on the denim sofa. Edward walks into the kitchen and Emmett falls onto the other sofa and stares up at the ceiling.

"Emmett?" I ask for his attention and he looks down at me. "Do you want to talk about it?" He nods a yes. "What happened?" I prod gently.

Emmett sits up and throws his feet onto the floor, placing his elbows on his thighs and his head in his hands he says, "I called her tonight and she told me she didn't want to have a long distance relationship _with me_."

"She said specifically 'with you'?" I ask in genuine surprise at the insensitivity of Rosalie.

"Yeah," he exhaled loudly.

Edward comes and sits down next to me. "I thought she was willing to work on it?" Edward chimed in.

"Yeah, well, I guess she changed her mind," Emmett mumbles. He rubs his hands over his face. He looks up at me and smiles a sad smile, "I was just trying to get to know her better. It's all I wanted to do."

"I know, Emmett." Edward says as he reaches over and takes my hand into his. "Why don't you stay here tonight and we can talk more in the morning?"

Emmett looks at me and slowly begins to look me over, "Why are you…" Emmett jumps up from the couch realizing that I am dressed up and immediately starts to leave.

"Emmett, what are you doing?" Edward asks loudly.

"I'm sorry. I should go. I didn't realize…" his voice trails off and when he looks over at me he looks more upset than he had been when we found him outside.

He takes another step towards the door and I yell, "EMMETT," louder than I had intended, but hopefully loud enough to get his attention. Emmett stops and looks at the two of us. "Please stay," I say quietly.

"Are you sure I'm not intruding?" he questions with his hands in his pockets, looking at Edward.

"Yes, man, we are sure," Edward states flatly. "We have a spare bedroom upstairs, it's no problem."

"I know I've interrupted, and I feel like such an ass…" he shakes his head and scuffs his shoe on the floor.

"McCarty, sit." Edward says sternly and points to the couch. Emmett's face looks momentarily surprised.

"Ok, man, I'll stay," he whispers. Emmett slowly makes his way back around the couch and takes the spot he had previously occupied. "I'm sorry if I've ruined your night, Bella," he looks up at me with his sad eyes and I feel like I may have totally underestimated his feeling for Rosalie.

"Em, you haven't ruined anything. Look," I say as hold out my left hand, showing him my engagement ring.

Emmett takes my hand and examines my ring with wide eyes, "Wow, Bells, it's a beautiful." He smiles over at Edward, "Congrats, man," he reaches over to shake his hand. "When's the big day?" he asks.

Edward and I look at each other and shrug and then I tell him, "We haven't really worked out any of the details yet."

"No worries," Emmett grins, "you guys have time."

Edward leans over and kisses my temple, "you ready for bed, Love?" he asks. I nod in response. Edward faces Emmett, "We are gonna head on up to bed. Help yourself to whatever you want. You can crash on the couch or there is spare bedroom upstairs." Edward stands up and pulls me up with him.

"Thanks guys, I appreciate this so much." Emmett's expression is lighter until he says, "I really owe you guys one."

Edward just shakes his head, "No, man, you don't _owe_ us anything. Just do us a favor and don't go anywhere until we've talked, ok?" Edward wraps his arm around my waist and leads me around the couch.

"Ok, I hear ya," Emmett nods enthusiastically and adds with a snicker, "Night, kiddies… don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Edward laughs and can't help but giggle as we make our way up the stairs. I'm relieved to hear Emmett crack a joke. It was awful to find him so upset earlier. Emmett is such a jovial, sweet guy and seeing him so tore up just about broke my heart.

...

When we reach our bedroom, I turn to Edward and growl, "I can't believe Rosalie did that to him."

"Love, let's talk about it tomorrow," Edward sighs. I start to continue my tirade, but Edward cuts me off by kissing my open mouth. His arms wrap around my waist and he lifts me up against him. I wrap my arms around his neck and begin to kiss him back. Our tongues tangle and entwine as his hands make their way down my back to hold me up by my ass. I wrap my legs around his waist and I can already feel his erection straining against his black jeans, pressing against my middle. I groan into his mouth and then Edward breaks our kiss, leaning his forehead into mine. He walks us to the foot of the bed and sets me down on the over-stuffed duvet and kisses me lips lightly. He kneels down in between my knees resting his hands on my thighs and smiles up at me, his green eyes are set and intense, "Bells, this, right here, right now, is about US. No one else, nothing else, understand?"

"Yes, Baby," I say in a hushed voice.

I wrap my legs around his middle and lean down to kiss him, but then he pulls back. "Don't," he says softly, his eyes burning into mine, "Let me love you?"

All I can do is nod, his intensity rendering me speechless.

Edward runs his hands down my thighs, around the outside of my knees and down the backs of calves where he finally comes to the tops of my Uggs. He gently pulls off the right boot, placing a kiss on the top of my bare foot and then placing it on his shoulder. He repeats the process on the left side and then grins up at me, "Why don't you lay back and relax?"

I do as I've been asked and relax back onto the bed. Edward begins massaging my calves through my jeans and then gradually works his way up the backs of my legs, eventually making his way to the fronts of my thighs. He takes his time starting just above my knees. Eventually he begins kneading the sensitive skin between my thighs and I feel myself become a little more aroused with every stroke. As he reaches the apex of my thighs his fingers graze the seam of my jeans and I can't help but groan as the light pressure pushes the seam pleasantly against my swelling core. His hands knead their way up the fly of my jeans until they reach my waist. Edward quickly unbuttons and unzips my jeans and then leans forward to place sweet kisses on my bare stomach. "Lift up," he grumbles as his grabs the waist of my jeans. I raise my stomach towards the ceiling and he pulls my jeans and panties down and throws them to the floor, leaving me bare from the waist down.

As I set myself back down on the bed, keeping Edward between my legs, his hands going under my ass, holding me firmly in place. He places a kiss on my right hip bone and then begins kissing his way across my stomach and over to my other hip. He gently bites down on my sensitive skin and I gasp quietly. He squeezes my ass tightly and then starts kissing his way back across. This time he dips lower, stopping at the top of my slit. He blows lightly on my sensitive core and I can't help but squirm against his hands. He holds me there and doesn't touch me, knowing that I am aching for his mouth to make me cum. I push myself towards his face, seeking his touch. He teases me further by placing kisses on each of my lips. When I move my hips against his mouth, his hands dig into my ass, holding me still, while he nips at my now engorged lip. "Fuck," I moan because it hurts so fucking good.

Edward let go of my ass and rakes his fingers towards the outside of my hips and then down my thighs. He pulls my legs up and sets my feet up on his shoulders and spreads my legs, granting himself wider access. Then, using his nose he gently spreads my folds, starting at the bottom and pulling his way up, flattening his tongue licking as he goes. When he reaching the top of my slit he bites down gently on my clit and begins to suck, sending shocks coursing through my body. My back arches up off the bed as I try to push myself into his face. A very small, tiny part of me wants him to stop, but the exquisite pain is too much, making the rest of me beg for so much more. And that's what I do… I groan and beg him for more. "Baby, please…" I whine and he delivers. His tongue begins working around and over me. The pressure inside my body begins to rise and just when I think I can't take it anymore… he slides a finger inside me and slowly begins to move it… in… and out… I quickly begin moving to the pace of he has set with his fingers when he adds another. He twist his hand over and easily finds the spot that he knows will send me over the edge. He begins to work my clit in time with the perfect strokes of his strong fingers and I come undone. Tension is radiating through my body. When it becomes too much, too intense, I try to use my legs to push away from his hungry mouth that is still attached to my pussy. But, he won't let me. I am shaking against his face when he grabs my legs, keeping me where he wants me. "Edward, please…" I gasp, unable to say what I'm thinking. He thinks I want more and he works me harder. "Please… fuck me," I pant, on the verge of coming all over again. Edward eases his assault on my clit, but continues licking my wet and swollen lips. He places a kiss at the top of slit and whispers, "You taste so good," to what seems like my pussy. He kisses me one more time and then he's gone.

I immediately open my eyes to see where he has disappeared to and am pleasantly surprised to see him standing at the foot of the bed. I gawk as he is pulls his shirt up and over his head, revealing his toned, strong body. My eyes make their way down his carved chest to his abs that ripple as he moves his arms over his head. When his hands come down to the fly of his jeans, I snap my gaze up to his face. He is smirking down at me with his sexy half-grin and eyes that can set my world on fire. "See something you like, Isabella?" he asks in a low, gravelly voice.

I prop myself up on my elbows and shake my head no. "I see someone that I love," I smile up at him.

Edward smiles wider and then quickly divests himself of his jeans, boxers and socks. "Come here, Love," he demands quietly. I slide my way down the bed and sit up in front him. He leans down and kisses my top lip gently and then the bottom lip. I can smell myself on him and when he finally puts his lips fully against mine and pushes his tongue into my mouth I groan at my taste being on his lips. His nimble fingers make quick work of my shirt and bra; throwing them in the same direction he sent my pants. I instantly want more and reach forward to take his length into my hands. He's hard and smooth and hot… and I want to taste him. I end the kiss and he leans up, momentarily unsure of what I'm doing. Once Edward is standing tall in front of him I lean forward to take his long, perfect cock into my mouth. He exhales a low moan and sighs, "Beautiful, you don't have to…." And that's my cue to begin working his shaft with my hand while licking and sucking the head of his cock. For a moment, his hands find my hair and he is moving in time with my ministrations. But, then he stops moving and his hands gently come to my face. One hand cradles my cheek, while the other comes under my chin and tilts my head up towards him. I look up, with his dick still in my mouth, and find him looking back at me with a serious expression on his face. His fingers come where my lips are still wrapped around him and he traces them tenderly, "I will never get enough of this," he says quietly. He shakes his head slightly and continues, "There's only one thing better than you sucking my dick," he says with a slow push into my mouth, "and that's making love to you." I can't help but a groan around him and he quickly pulls himself away from my mouth and takes a step back.

I immediately scoot back on the bed and beg him to, "make love to me."

He doesn't hesitate and quickly climbs up the bed and hovers over me. He leans in and kisses me gently as he settles in between my legs. I can feel the his tip press against me and I move myself just so trying get him further inside of me. I see a smile twitch up on his lips as he pushes himself in further. He's moving excruciatingly slow and I buck my hips toward his, eager for him to fill me completely. He pulls away and the loss frustrates me. "Please, Love, let me make love to you," he growls. The tenor of his voice makes me want more, but I try to comply. I try to be still, but as he pushes into me again at such a slow pace I can't help but push up against him. He continues his pace and I continue mine until he finally gives into what I want thrusting into me so hard that the drastic change takes me breathe away. "Is this what you want?" he growls as he pulls out and slams himself deep inside of me. I nod my head and grind against him. "You want me to fuck you?" he asks as he pulls himself away and I quickly nod my head hoping that he will. "Then you better hurry up and cum, because I'm not going to last much longer," he orders as he crashes down into me. I immediately reached down between my legs and begin working my clit as Edward begins to move faster and impossibly harder. It doesn't take me long to work myself up and when Edward feels me begin to tighten around him he shifts back slightly, changing his angle. His next thrust sends me reeling into my orgasm. I clench and moan and vibrate against Edward as he goes careening into his climax.

We lay together panting, while he lies on top of me. "I love you," I whisper into his ear. I nuzzle his neck until he rolls off of me and onto his side and rests his head on my shoulder. He drapes his leg over mine and throws his arm over my stomach, "I love you," he sighs into my hair and kisses my cheek.

I fall asleep in his arms, but not before I hear him whisper, "You make me so happy."

...

When I wake up I find myself alone in our bed. I hate waking up alone when Edward is home. It feels like such a waste of time. I go to run my fingers through my hair and my left hand gets tangled in my long, thick hair. "Shit," I mumble remembering my engagement ring and realizing it is what has snagged my hair. I carefully take my time and unwind my hair from around my ring. When my hand is free I hold it out in front of me, finally able to take a really good look at it.

"Wow," I whisper quietly to myself. My ring is beautiful. The center stone is a colorless, round diamond that has to be over a carat. The center stone is surrounded by a ring of pave diamonds. The band itself is made up of two delicately entwined bands, each completely set with pave diamonds. On the outside of the band there is tiny, subtle roping that borders the edge. The ring is beyond beautiful and very elegant. It is definitely more than what I would have ever picked for myself, but I can't deny how amazing it feels to have his ring on my finger.

It dawns on me that I need to make a few phone calls and let my family know what has happened. I grab the phone from the bed-side table and decide to call my Mom and Dad first. The phone rings a couple of times when my Dad picks up the phone.

"This better be my little girl calling me," my Dad jokes on the phone and I smile.

"Hi, Daddy."

"How are things going, Bells?" he asks.

"Things are good… really good. Is Mom around? I have some news and I want to tell you both at the same time."

"Yeah, Bells, she's here. Let me get her on the other line." I hear my Dad take the phone away from his mouth and yell at my Mom, 'Renee, pick up the phone.' She asks him something that I can't make out and he yells back, 'It's Bella, just pick up the phone, woman!' And I can't help but chuckle to myself. My parents have had the same dynamic for as long as I can remember. "Your Mom _still_ takes forever to do anything," my Dad sighs into the phone.

"I hear that," I joke. "How are you doing these days?" I ask, making small talk until Mom gets to the phone.

"I'm good, just got back from some a fishing trip in Miami."

"Who'd you go with?"

"Well, the last time Carlisle was up he invited me and Harry down to go out on his boat. So, that's what we did. It's just too cold to go out up here. How's the weather in California treating you?"

"It's chilly here, but nothing like Jax."

"Did you press charges on that Tanya woman?" my Dad briskly changes the subject.

"I filed a restraining order, but dropped the charges…" he cuts e off before I can explain further.

"Bella, you need to…" and I cut him off right back.

"Dad, you need to listen please…." I pause for a second and wait for his response.

"Ok," he answers quietly, "go ahead."

"There are many reasons why I didn't press charges. The most important one being is Tanya voluntarily left and admitted herself into a psychiatric facility. She also apologized to my face _AND_ her sister, Kate is one of my closest friends out here. I DID follow through with the restraining order and everything is on file in the courthouse. Happy?" The bad thing about being a cops' daughter is that they know how dangerous the world can be and they want to protect you from _everything_. At least that's how my Dad is.

"It's just that…" he starts and I can tell he's dying to tell me what to do.

"I don't want to hear it. I know what I need to do and I've done it and you, Dad, need to trust my judgment, okay?" I have had to consistently reassert my independence since the day I moved out eleven years ago.

"I hear you, Bells, it's just hard," he answers quietly.

Out of nowhere my Mother breaks into the conversation, "How's my girl doing?" she asks cheerily.

"I'm good, Mom, really good."

"Your Dad says you have news?"

"Yes, I do." I am quiet for a second and then tell them, "Edward proposed last night and I accepted."

My Mom squeals so loudly into the phone that I have to hold it away from my ear and when I put it back I hear my Dad mutter, "Shit, Renee, was that really necessary?"

"Oh, be quiet, you old grouch," she teases him back. "So, Bella… when's the big day? What does the ring look like? Have you picked anything out yet?" Her questions are coming a mile a minute and I can barely keep up.

"Mom…" she continues to babble. "MOM…" I say louder and I hear her say something about satin. "MOM!" I shout into the phone making my Dad laugh.

"Don't worry kiddo. She's just excited," he continues laughing to himself.

"Yeah, I can tell," I grumble. "Are you guys still planning on coming for Christmas?"

Both of my parents say yes and start talking about their plans for their visit next month and shortly thereafter we say our 'I love you's' and get off the phone. But not before they both ask, almost in unison, "Have you set a date?"

...

Instead of calling Alice I decide to text her…

B: Hey pixie… you're brother proposed last night and I accepted. Wanna be my Matron of Honor?

A: I knew it was coming I just didn't know when! I'm making the dresses and yes!

B: What? How'd you know?

A: Mom said she talked to Edward about it and he said he was ready, he just wasn't sure of the timing.

B: k

A: Have you guys set a date?

B: no

A: you need to so we can start planning.

B: k… I will talk to him about it ASAP. I need to go make some more phone calls.

A: K… talk to you soon… congrats!

B: thanks!

...

I'm amazed and relieved that she didn't stop texting and call me. And now I have to call Rosalie. After everything that has happened over the last twenty-four hours, I'm just not sure what to say to her. I take a deep breath and bite the bullet, dialing Rosalie's number.

She quickly answers, "Hello?"

"Hi, Rose," I say quietly.

"Hey, Bella, how's it going?" she asks breezily.

"Things are going pretty good. Edward proposed last night."

"And what did you say?" she asks as if there would be any doubt that I would say yes.

"I said yes. But, you knew that already didn't ya?" I tease.

"Yeah, I figured as much. So, when's the big day?" Ugg… I am really beginning to hate that question.

"We didn't really get a chance to talk about that last night."

"What? Were you too busy sexin' it up to talk?" she jokes, seeming to be unaware of how upset Emmett was last night...

"No, Rose… we were too busy consoling a heart-broken Emmett last night," I say a tad harsher than I had intended.

"What? Why? What happened to Emmett?" she asks, sounding completely shocked by Emmett being upset.

"You want to tell _me_ what happened?" I ask not believing her reaction.

"Well, he called me and we talked for a couple of hours. Towards the end of the conversation he just got really quiet and then insisted we get off the phone."

"_What did you say to him Rosalie?"_ I hiss.

"I told him something to the effect that I didn't want to do the long-distance thing with him and that I needed to think … oh shit… he thinks I don't want him anymore doesn't he?"

"Yeah, that's what he said."

"Bella, I was trying to say that I needed to get my life in order _here_ so I can move _there_."

"He didn't take that away from your conversation," I sigh, frustrated with the sheer stupidity of my very smart girl-friend.

"I need to go," she says quickly, "I need to call Emmett and explain."

"Ok, you do that and then call me back," I order.

"Ok, Bells, bye. Congrats," Rosalie says quickly and then hangs up the phone.

...

The only other person that I need to tell would be Kate. So, I send her a quick text …

B: E proposed last night and I accepted!

K: Congrats! I'm happy for you! When's the big day?

B: Thanks… dunno… will have to get back to you on that!

K: We need to get together soon.

B: K… I will call you later.

K: Sounds good!

...

I set my phone down on the bed-side table and lay back onto the bed. I wonder for a moment where my fiancé has disappeared to. I think about getting up and getting moving, but before I can make a decision I hear Edward's bare feet padding into our bedroom. I roll onto my side to see him carrying a tray into our room.

"Hey," he smiles as he walks over and sets the tray on the table next to me and takes a seat on the edge of the bed. He leans down and kisses me, lingering for a moment. He pulls away and turns to prop a leg up on the bed. "Did you talk to Rosalie this morning?" he asks with a quirked eyebrow.

"Yeah, why?" I ask knowing full well she is probably talking to Emmett as we speak.

"Well, Emmett is talking to her on the phone right now. What did you say to her?"

"I didn't really have to say anything. I think this is all a _BIG_ misunderstanding."

"So, she doesn't want to stop talking to him?" he asks seeming to be surprised.

"No, actually, it's the opposite. I think she's preparing to move out here to be with him and somehow he misheard her or she didn't say it right..." I shake my head, "either way once I told her Emmett was a mess she immediate got off the phone with me and told me she was going to call him to fix it."

"Well, that's good," he sighs.

"Alright, Baby," I sigh, "Everyone is absolutely thrilled that we are engaged. But, the first question out of their mouths is 'have we set a date?'… So, I'm thinking we need to sit down and figure some things out before Alice and our Mom's take over."

Edward chuckles, "Yeah, you're probably right. Do you have a date in mind?"

"No, not really, do you?"

"I was hoping we could do it before we deploy in January," he says quietly as if I will be upset by the idea.

"Ok… but that's in two months. Is there a reason why we can't wait until you get back?"

He shifts just slightly, "I just don't want to wait and if we are married before I go you will get all the military benefits," he states simply. But, I can tell he's hedging around something.

"Is that it? Because I have benefits through my job, I don't _need_ other benefits," I raise my eyebrows in challenge. He shifts again and I know I'm right, "just spit it out, Edward."

Edward's face turns solemn and looks straight into my eyes, "If something goes wrong while I'm gone… as it stands right now, my Mom is the first person the Command will call. If you are my wife, they call you."

"Oh," I had figured it had to be something like that, "well, then I guess we need to look at a calendar and figure this out."

Edward glances around our room and tells me to, "hold on a minute," and practically runs out of the room. He comes back moments later and plops down on our bed with a calendar in hand. He points to the calendar, "We deploy on the twenty-eighth and if we get married on the twenty-first that will give us a week to get all the paperwork taken care of."

I lean over and rest my head on his shoulder, "Yeah, but that doesn't really leave any time for a honeymoon."

Edward lifts his shoulder slightly making my head bob, "Is sex all you ever think about?" he teases.

"You know me," I sigh.

"Do you think you will be able to take off from work with that short of notice?" he asks, leaning back into the pillows at the head of the bed, while pulling me into his chest.

I look up at his unshaven face and I can't help but smile, "I'm not sure. I will have to check tomorrow when I get to work. What about you?"

Edward meets my gaze and leans down and places a kiss on my forehead, "It shouldn't be a problem. I might not be able to leave San Diego, but I should be able to work it so I don't have to go in."

"So, what do you think about getting married on the fourteenth and then having two weeks before you leave?" I ask as I cuddle myself further into him.

"I think that's fine. Where do we want to have it?"

"I'm not sure. I wish we could have it out on the beach, but it's just going to be too cold. I guess it really depends on how many people we invite."

"How many people do you want to invite?" he asks quietly.

"I really just want close friends and family."

"Then, that's what it will be," Edward says as he gives me an affectionate squeeze.

"Do you really think our parents will go for that?" I ask knowing full well that Esme, Renee and Alice would love to turn this wedding into a three-ring circus.

"It doesn't matter if they go for it or not," Edward kisses my forehead again, "we can pay for a wedding without them. So, if they would like to have any input they need to mind their p's and q's."

"Ok, so I guess I better get planning. We have less than two months." I immediately feel overwhelmed by the prospect of planning a wedding in such a short time frame.

Edward's breathing has slowed down and he sounds like he's on the verge of falling asleep. "Do you have any idea of what you want?" he asks with a yawn.

"Alice already said she wants to make my dress and the bridesmaid's dresses. I will just have Mom and Esme buy theirs. You guys will be in uni's or tux's…" I stop talking when a light snore interrupts me. It occurs to me that I have less than two months to pull off a wedding and that I really need to get planning. I lean over and grab my phone to text Alice.

B: Can we get together around 1:00 to start planning?

A: Sure thing. Where?

B: At the house.

A: Ok… see you in a bit.

...

I slowly ease my way out of the bed and leave napping Edward propped up in the bed. I put on a pair of sweat pants, a tank-top and my favorite hoodie, grab my laptop and my phone and head downstairs. I immediately make myself some tea and set my laptop up on the kitchen table. I grab a paper and pen and start brain-storming. I get on the internet and find several web-sites that have checklists that will definitely help with my planning.

The colors are easy to decide: blue, green and white. The flowers are easy, too: hydrangea. The rest I'm unsure of. The sheer amount of dresses that I find on line is completely over-whelming and I'm completely grateful that I have Alice. I really wish we could wait until April and get married on the beach, but I understand where Edward is coming from. I don't like it, but I understand it. There are so many venues to pick from and I know I don't have too much time to be particular.

Just when I'm beginning to feel the pressure of deciding so much, so quickly, Alice walks into the kitchen with Jasper trailing behind her. "Hey, Bells," she chimes with a smile on her face.

"Hi," I feign a smile, trying to cover my growing anxiety.

"You ok?" she asks after examining my expression.

I nod, "mmmhmmm, I think I could really use your help," I sigh.

Jasper and Alice sit down with me at the table and Alice reaches over and grabs my hand. "We just need to take it a step at a time, Sweetie."

I look over at Jasper and he gives me a small smile, "Al, why don't you go see what Edwards up while I talk to Bella for a minute."

Alice simply nods and gets up and leaves the table to go search for her brother. "I'm not gonna find him naked am I?" She yells back at us as she makes her way up the stairs.

I can't help but giggle and yell, "NO!" back at her. Jasper is looking at me carefully. "What's up Jazz?"

"Alice tells me that you and Edward are engaged?" he questions.

Smiling, I hold out my left hand to show him the ring, "Yep, he proposed last night."

"It's beautiful, Bells," he says quietly. "I know being with Edward makes you happy. So, why aren't you jumping for joy?"

I'm immediately offended by Jasper's question, "I _am_ happy, Jasper. I have wanted this since we've been back together. Hell, I've wanted this most of my life," I sigh as I look down at my sparkling engagement ring.

"Then what's with scowl?" he asks in all seriousness.

"I dunno." I shake my head and run my hands through my hair, "I think, now that we've set a date and it's only a couple months away, the whole idea of planning a wedding is daunting. And I'm just not sure where to begin."

"When is the big day?" Jasper asks.

"January fourteenth," I mutter and look up at Jazz.

"This coming January?" he asks in surprise. I nod yes. "In two months?" I nod again. "Ok, now this," he waves his hands at me, "makes sense. Was this Edward's idea?" I silently nod for a third time making Jasper chuckle. "Sis, don't worry so much. Alice will help you out and it will be perfect."

"You sure?" I ask completely unsure.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Just keep breathing Bella and it will all be fine. I promise." Jasper's smile is comforting and I do feel a little better.

"Thanks, Jazz," I smile and take a deep breath.

I can hear Edward, Alice and Emmett laughing as they make their way down the stairs. Emmett is the first to enter the kitchen. He practically runs over to me and places a big wet kiss on my cheek. He picks me up out of my chair, spins me around and then places my feet down on the ground so that I am standing in front of him. "Thanks, Bella!" He's grinning from ear-to-ear, "I feel like such an idiot and if you hadn't talked to Rosie… well, I'd still be a mess."

"I'm glad I could help," I tell him as I lightly slap his broad chest with my hand. I look up into his big blue eyes and say, "Next time don't react so hastily without talking to her first." Edward walks up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist and rests his chin on my shoulder. I can't help but lean my head against his.

"I know," Emmett sighs, "I just can't believe that someone like her would _ever_ want someone like me."

Alice speaks up quickly as she takes a chair next to Jasper, "Oh, shut up, Emmett! You're wonderful and you know it… Hell, Rosalie is _lucky_ to have YOU!"

"Thanks, Pixie," Emmett smiles and winks at Alice and then quickly changes the subject, "What's for breakfast?"

Edward quickly suggests, "Let's go get something, while the girls talk about the wedding?"

The guys all nod and begin moving around the kitchen. Jasper kisses Alice quickly and then runs downstairs to put on some shoes. I head towards the table to sit by Alice when Edward grabs my hand and pulls me back to face him. He's smiling down at me and his beautiful green eyes are sparkling, "Bella, you know that money is no object. That you can have anything you want, right?"

I bite my lip and slowly nod my head. He gently pushes my hair back and away from my face and then leans down to kiss me. The kiss is sweet and intense. And the intensity grows ten-fold when he pulls me flush against his body, enveloping me in his arms. My arms snake around his waist and part my lips slightly, hoping to deepen the kiss, when are interrupted by and "Ahem" and a giggle. Edward takes a small step back, breaking our kiss in the process. His grinning down at me, "I should go," he whispers and then kisses the apple of my cheek. He begins to walk out of the room but then turns to look at me, "I love you, Isabella," he winks and then continues, "remember… anything you want." He is looking at me like he's ready to devour me and I swear my knees go weak. All I can do is nod and smile.

I slowly make my way to the table and sit down by Alice who is smiling slyly at me. "What?" I ask somewhat embarrassed with how I reacted to Edward's kiss in front of my friend, his sister.

She laughs at me, "Nothing."

I open my laptop and place it between the two of us, "Let the wedding planning begin," I smile.

**So what did you think?**

**.**

**Thanks so much for reading and even more thanks to everyone that takes that extra minute to review.**

**.**

**.**

**Honestly, I was a bit blocked and had to edit out some parts that were stumping me and it took me a while to be ok with that. And the reviews that I received really kept me going... even if it was at a snail's pace- lol**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**My kids go back to school this next week and I'm hoping that will help with my motivation... anyway... let me know what you think... see you next week!**


	15. Chapter 14

**I do not own Twilight or its' characters... I just like making them do what I want...**

**.**

**I want to thank everyone who reads and an extra special hug for those that take the time to review.**

**.**

**.**

**ERCommandoTwilight (who gives me awesome feedback) gave me and idea for something in this chapter... I was going to make it a oneshot one day in the future, but I managed to work it in. Thanks for the feedback... I hope I did it justice. **

**.**

**.**

**.**

Alice quickly jumps into action helping me go through the to-do list that I found on the internet.

The first thing we need to figure out is the budget and that's almost the trickiest. "Edward told me that we don't have a limit," I say under my breath. It feels really strange to be able to say something like that. And since we've been back together I have really tried to avoid talking about it. But, now that I know just how much money we're dealing with and now that we are getting married, I realize that it's just how it is. Edward and I are just incredibly lucky. It's exactly like him being a Navy SEAL, I just have to embrace it and do my best to learn the best way to deal with it.

Alice bumps my arm to get my attention, "Its' over-whelming isn't it?" she asks. I just nod. "When Edward and I inherited all the money it was really quite a shock. I mean," she pauses and then angles her body a little more towards mine, "we knew our Grandfather was very well-off, but we had no idea how much he really had. I had a lot of mixed feelings about all of it, but after talking to my Mom and Jasper I realized how much of a blessing it truly is."

"Why didn't you ever tell me about it?" I ask quietly.

"I DID tell you that I inherited a lot of money," she smiles shyly, "I just didn't tell you exactly how much."

"Why?"

"Because it doesn't matter how much, nothing has changed. Why is this bothering you so much?"

"I don't know. I'm just having a hard time understanding. I'm sure I will get over it." I sigh, and shift uneasily in my seat. I feel like I would have told her and I really don't understand. But, I know I need to let it go. There's no point in holding on to it. I look over at her and I can see in her eyes that she is pained by our conversation. "You know what Al? Who cares? It doesn't matter."

Her head immediately lifts up and she looks at my wide-eyed. "Really?" she asks excitedly.

"Yeah, I need to let it go." Alice bolts from her seat and wraps me up in a hug. I hug her back and then she flies back into her chair and wipes her eyes.

"Ok, let's get back to your wedding," she smiles trying to get us back on track. "Budget…" she peers up at me, "Do you think your parents will want to contribute anything?"

"I'm not sure. I wasn't planning on asking them. The already paid for one wedding that didn't happen and I don't want them to have to pay for this one."

"Maybe you should ask them?" Alice says quietly.

"You're right. I will. But, for right now let's not worry about that."

"Ok," she smiles, "Let's get through this checklist so we can move forward. Where do you want to get married?"

"At the beach."

"Inside or outside?"

"Ideally outside, but it's going to be too chilly in January for an outside wedding."

"How many people do you want to invite?"

"Just close friends and family."

"How formal do you want this to be?"

"I'm not sure."

"Ok, let's look at some pictures on-line and see what you like."

"Thanks, Al. I'm pretty sure I couldn't do this without you." I smile at my friend.

She nudges me gently with her elbow and says, "No worries." She ducks her head to the side and then asks, "What would you think about me being your wedding coordinator?"

"Do you have the time?" I ask, not really surprised that she wants to take over. "What about the boutique?"

"Right now, we are still building. We plan on opening the first of the year. But…" she hesitates and when Alice hesitates it always means a big idea is coming, "I was thinking…" when she hesitates for the second time I begin to worry.

"Just spit it out, Al," I grumble causing Alice to giggle.

"It's not bad, silly," she sighs, "You know how this boutique is going to couture?" I nod. "I was thinking that I could design and make your wedding dress and the bridesmaid's dresses and maybe start a bridal couture line from there." She's looking up at me like a scared little kitten. Does she really think I am going to say no?

"Really?" I ask. "Are you sure you want to take that on, too?"

"Bells, YES, it will really give me something to do. Something to take my mind off of the boutique and the baby and Jasper's crabbiness over not having a job. God, it will be so fun for me." Alice is literally bouncing in her seat, and I can see that if I tell her no it would crush her.

"Alice, I would love to have you design my dress." I smile at my best-friend as she literally screeches her excitement and jumps out of her chair, still screeching, and climbs into my lap, her arms fly around my neck and hugs me tighter than I think she should be capable of. When she finally stops screeching, I manage to whisper, "Al, I can't breathe."

As she begins to release her death-grip, I hear Edward chuckle behind us, "Alice, please don't hurt my fiancée."

Still sitting in my lap, Alice looks over at Edward and sticks out her tongue. "You better watch it Mister," she warns, "I'm your wedding coordinator and if you don't behave your tux will be powder blue."

Edward just shrugs as he makes his way over to the table and sets the bag of food down. "I'm not wearing a Tux, so do what you will." Jasper and Emmett have some to the table and taken a seat, each carrying another bag and following Edward's lead they sit theirs on the table as well.

"What?" Alice squeals.

Jasper mutters, "oh hell," and then scoots down into his chair, trying to become invisible.

"I'm wearing my uniform," he says simply, wry grin spread across his face, loving the fact that he just gave his little sister a heart attack.

Alice stands up, shaking her head. She scowls at Edward and says, "You're an ass." Before he can answer she walks over to the refrigerator and gets herself a drink.

"Oh, come on Alley-oop, you know I'm just playing with you," Edward's grinning at her now, trying to soften her up. "I would never to anything to make my girls' day less than amazing, you know that." I look over at him and he winks at me.

"I hear ya," she says quietly. All of our heads immediately go to Alice because this calm and quiet tone of voice is so unlike her "But, I'm going to ask you this one time, and one time only… when it comes to the wedding… ANYTHING with the wedding … no more joking, no more kidding. I am planning this for Bella, YOUR future wife. You want her to have her day and so do I. And we all know that I'm tenacious enough to make it happen in _two months_. So, now more giving me grief," she points her well-manicured finger at Edward, "you hear me, _big brother_?"

Edward snickers for a very, very brief moment, "I hear you, loud and clear." He nods at her, glances at the rest of us and then changes the subject, "Everyone ready to eat?" We all nod and dig into the delicious Chinese food the boys brought home.

After we finish eating, Alice and I leave the boys to get back to the wedding planning. We head down to her place and begin searching the internet. She's determined to figure out what I like and what I really want. She has already put in calls to the parents telling them that the wedding will be close friends and family and to limit their guest lists. Esme is a little put off by the idea, and Renee and Charlie were fine with whatever. Before she hangs up with my parents she hands me the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Bells," my Dad answers.

"What's up?"

"Well, your Mom and I have been talking about the wedding and we know that Edward has plenty of money, but we would like to help. Is that alright with you guys?" Charlie asks tentatively.

"Yeah, Dad that's fine. But, you did already pay for one wedding, that didn't happen. I don't want you to think that you have to pay for this one, I understand."

"It's not that we _think_ we _should_ help, it's that we _want_ to help. Have you and Edward talked about any of this yet?" My Dad asks quietly.

"We haven't, but I know he would say that I should do what I feel is best. And Daddy…" I am struggling to explain that Edward has more money than God without saying just that and not insulting my Dad at the exact same time… "I want you to do what you think is best. I also want you to know that Edward and I can cover the cost of this wedding with no problems and that you shouldn't do anything that will have long-term effects for you and Mom."

Charlie's quiet for a moment before he stutters, "Um… well… I see…" I take a deep breath because I'm never sure if Charlie being speechless is a good thing, "How about this… I will talk to your Mom and we will figure it out and then we will get it to you."

"Ok," I murmur into the phone.

"But, here's the catch, baby girl… You can't say anything about the amount, but 'Thank you'. You got it?" My Dad says in his best 'I'm the Chief-of-police' voice.

I can't help but laugh into the phone, "I got it, Dad."

We make small talk for a few more minutes before we get off the phone and I tell Alice what transpired. She just smiles and winks at the appropriate times. We spend another hour surfing the web, when out of nowhere Alice busts out with, "Ok… I think I got it… let me start making plans and drawings, and make some phone calls and then I will let you know what's next."

I smile and tell her, "Thank you," and then head upstairs to see what the boys were up to. I am relieved to see Edward and Jasper sprawled all over the couches watching TV. I make my over to Edward and he looks up at me. "Where's Emmett?" I ask.

"He left a little while ago. He said he had some things to do," Edward smiles and reaches up and takes my hand, "sit with me?"

I smile down at him and squeeze his hand. He scoots up and puts his back into the corner of the couch and then spreads his legs, creating a spot for me in front of him. I sit down and carefully slide back between his legs so that my back is resting against his chest. Edward's arms come around me and he hugs me against him. He kisses the side of my neck lightly and then rests his chin on my shoulder. All I can do is sigh and relax into him.

I catch Jasper glancing over at us and I smile at my brother. "I think I'm going to owe Alice big time," I tell him.

Jasper smiles back, "Nah, she'd be bugging the shit out of you if you didn't let her help you. She'll do an awesome job and love every minute of it."

"You alright with me stealing her for the next couple of months?"

Jasper laughs, "Yeah, I think I will live." He sits up on the couch, "I think I will go check on the pixie, right now." Jasper stands and then stretches his long arms up towards the ceiling. As we walks around the couch he tells us, "Bye, kiddies. I'll see you tomorrow."

Edward laughs quietly, "Great, now make sure you lock the door behind you."

I hear Jasper laugh and then twist myself around in Edward's arms. Edward grins at me and his green eyes are sparkling and I am pretty sure I'm in for something. I put my hands on his chest and ask, "And why does he need to _lock_ the door?"

"Because," he says quietly and skims his hands down my sides, "there are some _things_ I want to show you." He's almost whispering and the combination of his hands settling on my hips and his low voice has me already starting to get wet.

I lean in, pressing my chest to his, and run my nose along his jaw-line from his chin up to his ear. I tease the lobe of his ear gently with my tongue and then nip lightly. I let go of his ear and whisper, "And what do you want to show me?" He shivers slightly and his hands begin to knead my hips.

"Sit back, Love," he growls. I kiss the shell of his ear and then oblige. I sit back with a smile on my face. Edward clears his throat, but it doesn't really seem to help. When he begins talking his voice is still low and husky. He looks up at me and his eyes are burn into mine. His pink tongue darts out and wets his bottom lip, "I want to show you some things to help you defend yourself."

I immediately begin pouting, jutting out my bottom lip. This isn't what I am hoping for. "Right_ now_?" I whine.

"Yeah, why not? It'll be fun," he grins and pushes his hips up and grinds himself into me.

"Ugggg," I groan and sit a little further back. I know that once he has made up his mind that there's very little I can do to change it. "Ok," I sigh, "show me."

Edward grins widely, happy that he has gotten his way, and then tells me sweetly, "Put your hands back on my chest." I comply and place both of my hands on his chest. "Ok, now I'm going to take both of my arms and bring them over the top of your, quickly, to break your hold. Try to keep your hands in place."

I nod and press my hands harder into his chest. Out of nowhere he throws his arms over and in between mine and then he drives them down, making my arms give way and I immediately fall into his chest. I little annoyed, I bite his collar bone.

"Ow! Damn, woman!" Edward yips and I giggle.

"What about up? Can I go up and in between?" I ask curiously.

Edward smiles wickedly. Instantly liking that I am asking questions and I'm sure, as much as the nip startled him, that he loved it. "Try it." Edward grabs my shoulders and from that position it's harder to go over so I try to go up and in between, which works. Edward smiles and tells me "Good job." I grin back, proud of myself. "Alright, how about this… when I grab your wrist, I want you to twist towards my thumb and try to get away."

"Ok," I nod. Edward quickly grabs my wrist and I instantly try to pull away, which doesn't work. I look at Edward and he squeezes my wrist a bit harder. "Ow," I growl, because it's starting to hurt and he's beginning to piss me off.

"Turn towards my thumb," he says quietly and gives me another squeeze.

"Fucker!" I yell and then finally follow his directions and twist my wrist in towards his thumb. It takes a little effort, but I am able to finally get free of his vise-like grip. I rub my wrist and complain, "I'm going to have a bruise tomorrow. That will be fun to explain."

Edward fights a chuckle and says, "Just tell them the truth. That your Navy SEAL fiancé was teaching you how to defend yourself."

"Fine. Is that it?" I ask.

"No." He scoots me back a bit and stands up. "Because of your size you need to focus on weakness, pressure points and leverage. Stand up." I follow his request and stand. "Weak spots: eyes, ears, nose, groin, knees, ankles. If you are able to get your arms free jab with your fingers in the eyes, or punch or smack the ears or the nose. A punch or kick to the groin is very effective. And for the knees and ankles kick across the joint. So, kick on the outside to make it collapse to the inside and vise-versa." My mind is reeling, trying to remember the information. "Pressure points: temple, throat, arm-pit… if you hit someone in the throat it will make it very hard to breath."

"How do I hit someone in the arm-pit?"

Edward laughs. "I'm thinking that's more of a jab. If someone has a hold of you, and you can reach it, take your fingers and push up as hard as you can in their arm-pit and they will let go of you at least long enough to get your hands out."

"Oh, I never thought of that," I mutter. And why would I have? I had never had anything happen to up until the last couple of months.

"Don't forget about leverage. Grab their fingers and pull them backward against their hand. When you hit use the heal of your hand or a hammer fist," he shows me what he's talking about with his hand. "Elbows work great, too. But the key, truly, is to keep fighting. Don't ever stop or give up." Edward takes a step towards me and looks down at me. His expression darkens when he says, "And fight dirty."

Never breaking eye-contact, I lick my lips and raise my hand up to his chest. I rise up on my tip-toes as far as I can reach and kiss his dimpled chin. He startles me when he grabs my wrists and pulls me back towards the ground.

"I want you to try to get away," Edward growls. And it's all I can do to nod. I love it when he's this intense and I really, really don't want to get away.

I twist my arms in towards his thumbs and angle them as hard as I can until he finally lets go. I move to step back and he grabs a hold of my waist, leaving my hands free. I go to hit him in the throat and he shifts back just enough that I fall forward with his movement and into him. Edward spins gracefully and slams me backwards onto the couch. He quickly straddles my waist, pinning my hips and legs under him. I punch at his abs, and he flinches but recovers easily and grabs my arms and pins them up over my head. I squirm with all my might, but I can't get my hands free. I push up with my hips to no avail. I try to knee him in the back, but I can't get enough leverage to make it worth the effort.

I'm starting to breathe heavily when leans and kisses me. His mouth is hard on mine and I try not to respond. But, when he pushes his tongue into my mouth, I bite down. He immediately shoots back up and growls. He lets go of my hands and his hands shoot towards his mouth. I use all my strength and using my left leg I push my hips up as hard as I can and then tilt my hips, trying to get him off-balance. My plan works and Edward is tipped onto the floor beside the couch. I jump up off the couch and leap towards the other couch, trying to make my way over it and up the stairs.

Before I reach the couch, Edward grabs my ankle making me fall onto my stomach on the couch and my knees hit the floor. He's up and behind me in a matter of seconds. His mouth is next to my ear and I hear him panting, trying to catch his breath. "Damn, Love, you got me that time." He moves my hair over to the other side of my neck and kisses the back of my neck. "I'm proud of you ," he whispers in my ear and nips at my ear lobe, making me groan.

I push my ass back into his hips and sway against him. His hands trace the hem of my hoodie and tank at my waist until he abruptly pulls it up and almost over my head. He holds the clothing tight to the couch with one hand, pinning me in place. With his free hand he reaches around and roughly begins pinching and squeezing each of my nipples. I moan again and push myself harder against him, feeling his erection straining against his jeans. He bites down on my shoulder, _hard_ and I already want to cum.

With his spare hand, Edward pulls my sweatpants down to floor and around my knees. His hand comes up to the back of his neck where he squeezes gently. His hand lightly scratches down my spine, between my cheeks and then dipping easily into my very wet pussy. "You're so fucking wet," he groans against my shoulder. His long fingers glide easily out of my pussy and down to my clit, where he eagerly begins to run circle around it and occasionally giving it a flick with one of his fingers. At that's really all I need. He manages to slip a finger inside while he's working my clit and I quickly come on his hand. My legs are shaking and I can't control the movements of my hips. I ride the wave as long as I can until it's entirely too much and shift away from his hand. He pulls his hand away and I hear him sucking on his fingers, "You taste so good, Love," he growls. The next thing I hear is Edward unzipping his jeans. He reaches down with his free hand and pulls my sweats completely off my legs and then he gives my ass a quick smack, making my jump in surprise.

I feel his burning erection press against my ass as he leans forward and bites at my shoulder. I flinch away from him and Edward growls, "I'm gonna fuck you, now." He guides his dick against my wet slit, rubbing my clit on the down-stroke, making me hiss and shift against him. I move my hips so that I can feel his cock at my entrance and then ease back, slowly impaling myself on him. Just when I think he's going to be still he slams his hips hard against my ass. "Damn, you feel so fucking good," he grunts as he pulls back and then slams himself back into me. "Too, good," he moans and both of his hands come to the sides of my hips. He grabs my hips harder as he slams against me and I know he's going to cum. "I'm gonna cum," he groans as his head falls against my shoulder blade. His arms wrap around my waist as he cums inside me.

Edward stills, but stays wrapped around me. When he finally straightens he pulls me up with him and then leans back so that I am once again in his lap. I pull my clothes the rest of the way off and then turn in his lap so that I am facing him. He looks at me, totally spent and completely relaxed and I giggle.

"What?" he asks quietly.

"Nothing… it's just that… I'm pretty sure I could kick your ass right now," I laugh and then lean in and kiss his lips.

He wraps his arms around me and kisses me sweetly. "Sure Love, you keep telling yourself that," he teases.

I rest my head on his shoulder and just listen to his breathing. "Love you," I whisper.

Edward kisses my shoulder and whispers, "I love you," in return.

**a/n: I know this chapter wasn't as long as my past. But, it's just what I have to do right now to get this out to you. It might just be how it is from now on.**

**.**

**So, what do you think? More updates and shorter chapters OR longer chapters and update every two weeks? It's up to the reviewers!**

**.**

**.**

**Thanks again to everyone who reads and reviews... All of you rock!**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**A special thanks to Coldplaywhore who helped get me motivated this weekend. If your reading this I'm honored... and you really did help me out! If you haven't read any of her stuff you should... her stories rocks! Maybe I'm Falling For You is my favorite, but there are so many others! **


	16. Chapter 15

**I do not own these characters, but I like playing with them!**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**a/n: Sorry about the delay... I will explain at the bottom...**

**.**

**.**

**Thank you for sticking with me and taking the time to read and extra special hugs and kisses for those of you who take the time to review :0)**

**.**

The next week goes by quickly. Edward and I both go back to work. Alice is knee deep in planning our wedding and Esme is planning an amazing Thanksgiving dinner at her new four-thousand square foot "cottage" that's only a few blocks from our house.

Alice has the wedding planning under control. Once she and I settled on a vintage style for the wedding, she drew up six dress sketches for me to pick from and then narrowed our venue options to three places all in the matter of a day. On Tuesday she calls me at school to see if she can meet me for lunch and I, of course, agree. She brings Thai food and her laptop and we sit in my classroom going over wedding and reception sites.

"I think these three sites are our best options," she begins. "They are all unique and will fit with the vintage style you want." She sets the laptop in front of me and takes me to the first site: L'Auberge Del Mar. I look over the site quickly and when I realize where it is I immediately rule it out.

"It's in Del Mar," I tell Alice, "I was really hoping for something closer to home."

"Ok, the next two are much closer." She goes to the next site: The Abbey on Fifth Ave. The wood-working and architecture are beautiful, but it is too open. It feels like too much like a theatre and it's just not intimate enough for the amount of people we plan on inviting.

"I think it's too big and, as pretty as it is, I don't like the theater aspect," I sigh.

"Ok, this last one has lots of options and I'm sure that we will be able to make one of them work," Alice says matter-of-factly as she quickly types in a URL and slides the laptop back in front of me.

But, before I look back at the screen I nervously ask, "What if I don't like this one either?"

"Bells," Alice sighs and nudges my arm with her elbow, "I have it covered."

"Ok, so what's the plan if I don't like this one?"

"Last resort?" She asks with a quirked eyebrow and I nod my head yes, "We have it at the house."

"How?" I ask completely surprised by her solution.

"We move the furniture downstairs. Have the ceremony on the patio out front and reception in Living and Dining Rooms; Cocktails in the courtyard," Alice rattles the list off quickly and then eyes me skeptically. "What? You don't think I haven't thought about all of this?" She laughs quietly.

I shrug, "I just… well, I wasn't sure."

"Hey, it's my job… if I'm gonna do it I'm gonna cover _aaaallll_ the bases. But, you don't have to worry about that, look at the site." She points to the laptop, "I am positive that this is the one."

I'm a little surprised to the home page for the _Hotel del Coronado_. I have always thought it was a beautiful Victorian hotel, with its' red-roof and white siding. But, I had yet to see the inside. Edward and I had always planned on going and eating there, but we just hadn't made our way there yet.

Alice starts showing me pictures of different ball rooms and guest rooms and I am immediately intrigued. "Ok, I think we should go check this one out," I say with a smile.

Alice starts vibrating with excitement and she can barely stay in her seat, "I talked to the manager earlier today and he said he could give us a tour at 6:00 tonight. Do you think you and Edward can make it?"

"I don't see why not," I smile back. "But, do you think they have our date available?"

"They DO!" Alice practically yelled at me, "I checked and they are wide open for January 14th."

"Seriously?" I ask. "How can a place like that _not_ be booked?"

Alice winks at me, "they had a cancellation last month."

I literally squeal in excitement and immediately jump up and hug Alice, who begins squealing as well.

As Alice leaves, she and I are ecstatic about the headway we have just made in the wedding planning. I text Edward to let him know about the meeting this evening and as my next class begins to file into the room he texts me back saying that he will have no problem going with Alice and me to the hotel.

~MoH~

The rest of the day goes by quickly and before I know it I'm home and grading papers in my office. When I pull in the garage I'm a little surprised that Edward's Volvo is missing. I shrug it off and head upstairs and quickly get to work. I don't have much to do, but I want to get it done before the meeting tonight so I can enjoy myself.

When I make it through my third paper, I'm startled by Edward clearing his throat. My head quickly snaps up to the doorway to find Edward smiling back at me. His smile is sweet, but it doesn't reach his eyes and I can tell that something is wrong.

"What is it?" I ask quietly.

"How did you?" he pauses and then shakes his head, "nevermind…" he mumbles and pushes off towards me. He pulls me, in my office chair, back away from my desk and abruptly falls down on his knees in front of me, puts his head lap and wraps his arms around my waist.

I'm speechless.

I have no idea what has brought this on and I'm really not sure that I want to know. I bring my hands to his head and gently start caressing his head and neck. I sit quietly, hoping that he will tell me when he's ready.

After a few minutes, Edward sighs and lifts his head and looks up into my eyes. His normally twinkling, happy, green eyes seem sad and unsure. His forehead furrows slightly and I bring my hands to his face. I cradle his face and lean down and kiss his worried brow. "I love you," I whisper against his cool skin. "Nothing is going to change that."

"I know," he sighs. "I love you, too."

"What's going on, Baby?" I ask quietly.

"Nothing… yet," he answers vaguely, annoying me slightly.

I pull away and look down, directly into his eyes, "tell me," I beg in a whisper.

Edward blinks once, twice and then shakes his head a bit. He takes a deep breath and then says, "Master-chief pulled me aside when I was leaving this afternoon and told me that there was a possibility we could get called back out."

"When?" I gasp, stunned.

"We could get the call as early as tomorrow," he state without much emotion.

"For how long?"

"I don't know. It depends on the mission and how long it takes us to complete it."

My breath catches with the word _mission_. He hasn't been on a 'real' mission since I've been back. "Where?" I whisper, trying to hold back the tears that are beginning to well up in my eyes.

"I can't say."

"Fuck," I groan. "It's really _that_ bad?"

Edward just nods and puts his head back down into my lap, squeezing me tighter. My mind is beginning to race with questions: what are we going to do about the wedding? Do we go ahead and plan that he will be back in time? What if something happens to him while he's gone, they won't contact me first. They will contact Esme. And then it all becomes clear…

"Let's get married, _NOW_," I blurt.

Edward head snaps up and his gaze meets mine. His eyes are wide with surprise, "Really?" he asks, quietly.

"Yes," I smile, knowing that I am completely sure.

Edward smiles back, but I can tell that he's still not completely sure that I am completely sure, "What about the wedding?"

"We can still have the ceremony and reception when you get back."

Edward quickly stands and then takes my hand and pulls me up with him. His arms wrap around my waist and he pulls me close. "I love you, Isabella," he whispers into my hair. He pauses for a moment, inhaling deeply before adding, "I'm sorry."

I pull back slightly to look up into his face, "It's going to be okay, Baby," I tried to reassure him. "It's not what we were planning, but we will make the best out of this." He leans down and kisses my lips gently, lingering for a moment. When he pulls away I tell him, "First thing in the morning we'll go to the courthouse and get married and then we can go and get all the other paperwork done. That way you won't have to worry about that while you're gone, ok?"

Edward nods and I can see his eyes begin to well up. "Thank you," he says in less than a whisper. He leans in and kisses me again and we hug each other as tight as we possibly can.

"Hey, Guys, are you ready?" Alice asks loudly as she comes flitting into the room. She takes a quick glance at the two of us then asks, "Is everything okay?"

I rest my head against Edward's chest and look over at Alice while Edward's chin comes to rest atop my head. "We've had a slight change of plans," I tell her.

"Shit," she sighs and leans back against the wall. "Spill it," she orders.

Before I can speak, Edward does, "We are going to City Hall tomorrow and getting married."

"What?" Alice half-asks, half-screams. "Why now? What's changed?" She's glaring at us when she finally gets it, "No," she groans. "Are you leaving?" she asks Edward.

All he says is, "I can't say," which tells her everything she didn't want to know.

Alice immediately calms down and says, "Well, I sure as hell didn't plan for this, but we will just have to make tomorrow perfect, too."

"Al, we are still going to see the Hotel tonight," I tell her.

"Really?" she squeals and I nod.

"We will have the ceremony and reception like we are planning. We are just going to make it official a little earlier than planned," I explain.

"Oh, okay," she smiles, "Well, we need to go if we are going to make the appointment on time."

~MoH~

We make it to the Hotel del Coronado less than ten minutes. I am already in love the exterior with its' bright white siding and red roof. The landscaping is beautiful and colorful. But, it doesn't prepare me for what we see when we enter the lobby.

My eye goes straight to the large crystal chandelier that hangs in the middle of the lobby over a large table that has a very large and beautiful flower arrangement sitting on top of it. I follow the chandelier up to the dark-wood paneled and beamed ceiling. That's when I realize the two-story room is filled with the same rich wainscot paneling throughout, contrasted with a white wall above it. The carpeting has the look of and rich, red and gold Oriental rug, which warms and balances the room considerably.

Alice tells Edward and me to wait while she finds the event coordinator. She's only gone a few minutes when she comes back with a tall, slender man who she introduces to us as David Jones. He begins walking us off to the right, telling us all about the history of the hotel. He walks toward a room, clearly marked the Coronet Room, when Alice immediately tells him to stop.

He turns and looks at her completely surprised. Alice quickly explains that although the Coronet and Crown rooms are beautiful they are just too dark for what we want. She easily pulls a list from her binder and hands it over to David. He immediately smiles as if he understands exactly what we want.

David leads us further down the hall and opens the door to the Grande Hall. And unfortunately I am not impressed. It just seems like a big meeting room.

"What do you think?" I ask Edward, who just shrugs and says, "Eh."

David must have overheard our conversation because the next rooms he takes us to are two smaller rooms: The Garden Room and the Hanover Room. Both rooms are light and neutral except that the Hanover Room has red carpet and the Garden Rooms' was more neutral. Both rooms are the right size and the Garden Room has a nice view of the Garden's. But, they are both typically boring rectangular rooms.

"What else is there?" I ask Alice, who immediately looks over to David.

David smiles wide, "I've saved the best for last. Follow me." David leads us back through the Lobby and across to the other side of the hotel. He stops dramatically in front of a door and says, "This is the Ball Room," and opens the door with a flourish. And it is exactly that… a beautiful, huge octagonal room that happens to have an amazing panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean. I love the creamy walls and moldings that adorn the walls. There are several large, ornate crystal chandeliers that fill the room in a lovely golden glow. The room is very large, and I have to wonder if it is too big.

Alice is busy chatting David up when Edward squeezes my hand and asks, "What do you think of this one?"

"It's beautiful," I smile at him, "but it's huge." Edward chuckles quietly and kisses my temple.

"But, do you like it?" he asks.

I take a moment and look around the absolutely beautiful room and I can't help but smile, "I love it," I tell him.

He takes my hand into his and I look up and meet his emerald gaze, "Do you want it?"

I bite down lightly on my bottom lip, smile and nod my head. Edward pulls me closer to him and kisses the top of my head. "Hey David," Edward waits a moment for David to look at the two of us, "We will take it. Alice will give you all the details."

Edward wraps his strong arms around me and pulls me tightly to him and then leans down and kisses me lightly. I vaguely hear David and Alice in the background, but I try to keep focus completely on Edward.

**.**

**a/n: I am very sorry for the delay. R/l has been kicking my butt for sooooo many reasons that I'm sure you all care nothing about. And to top it off, I just couldn't get anywhere with this chapter. I re-wrote it three times and finally decided on this version. I am hoping that this change will make it easier to write. **

**.**

**.**

**Thanks again for sticking with me. I really appreciate all of you :0)**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**With a little luch I hope to get the next chapter out ASAP!**


	17. Chapter 16

**a/n: I do not own these characters, but they sure are fun to play with!**

**Longer a/n at the bottom... Happy reading!**

**

* * *

**David and Alice have left us in the Ball Room and have gone off to his office to go over the contract. I slowly pull back from Edward, taking his hand and leading us over to the windows that look out over the Pacific Ocean. I face the windows, admiring the beautiful view and Edward steps in behind me, resting one of his hands on my hip.

"Let's grab something to eat while we're out," Edward says quietly.

I look up at him and his somber face makes my heart ache. "Okay, but on two conditions…"

"Ooohkay," Edward agrees and gives a nod.

"One: we take Alice and Jasper out with us and Two: you relax and be here with me and not worry about what's coming. Ok?"

"I have no problem with Al and Jazz coming out with us and, I promise, I will try to relax," Edward conceded and kisses the side of me head as he pulls his phone out of the back pocket of his blue jeans. He starts texting someone, who I assume in Jasper. "Where do you want to go eat?" he asks me.

"How about here?"

"Ok," he sends another text and then pulls my back flush against his front. He holds the phone in front of me and I can see that he's telling my brother where to meet us. As I look at the sun setting over the ocean, Edward asks, "So, why do you want Jazz and Al to come out with us?" He settles his chin on my shoulder.

"Distraction," I mumble.

Before Edward can say a word, Alice is back in the ball room in full force. She's talking a mile a minute on her cell phone and is flailing her arms about. I can't help but stare at her and wonder what in the hell has gotten her so hot and bothered.

"What's going on Al?" Edward asks.

"Nothing," she snaps and quickly hangs up her phone. "I've got it under control. You two don't need to worry about it."

Since she's already made up her mind _not _to talk to us about it, I decide to change the subject, "Do you and Jazz want to have dinner with us tonight?"

Her face immediately lights up. "Really?" she asks in surprise. "Are you sure you two don't want to be alone?"

"Nope," I say quickly. "The more the merrier."

"Great!" Alice is all smiles now, "Let me call Jasper. Where should he meet us?"

"I just texted him and he's on his way here," Edward answers. "We are going to eat at _1500 Ocean_ tonight."

"Ooooh,"Alice moans, "That's supposed to be delicious."

The three of us head out of the ballroom and out to the car to put Alice's wedding binder away. Jasper pulls up beside us and parks next to Edward's Volvo. Jasper comes around the car and hugs Alice. "So, what's the occasion?" he asks unknowingly.

"We are getting married… tomorrow," Edward announces as he squeezes my hip, pulling me closer to him.

"What? Why?" Jasper asks confused, his eyes dart quickly around the three of us looking for an explanation.

"I'm gonna have to go soon and Bella needs to be my legal, next of kin," Edward says quietly. When he says _next of kin_ I gasp. I've never really thought about it that way and I don't really like it. I rest my head against his chest, and for a moment it's all threatening to over-whelm me. Edward leaving is bad enough. But, the idea of losing him is just fucking awful. Edward wraps his arms around me and pulls me closer.

"Let's go eat," he whispers and then kisses the top of my head. I nod and his embrace loosens enough that I can take a small step back from him. When I look up into his eyes, I can see the worry behind them and it makes me nervous. I've never seen him look worried about his job before and I don't like it.

"Kiss me," I whisper. His crooked smile appears instantly offering me some relief from my growing anxiety. Edward leans down and kisses me sweetly.

Before we break the kiss, Alice chimes in, "Alright you two, there's time for that shit later. It's time to feed the pixie." We all laugh at Alice and head back into the hotel for supper.

The four of us head back inside the hotel and walk past the Ball room towards restaurant. As we make our way down the hall several well-dressed couples pass us by. I squeeze Edward's hand to get his attention. He looks over and I ask, "Are we dressed for this?"

He shrugs his shoulders, squeezes my hand and tells me, "Don't worry, it will be fine."

When we finally enter the restaurant, I'm a tad nervous. Edward quickly walks to the hostess and proceeds to talk to her quietly. Alice whispers, "What is he doing?"

I glance back at Edward and the hostess. She's a cute, petite blonde and she doesn't stand a chance against Edward's dazzling charm. The hostess blushes slightly and nods and then Edward turns and walks back towards us. "I think he's getting us a table," I answer while smiling back at my already grinning fiancé.

He comes to stand in front of us looking like the cat that ate the proverbial canary. He wraps his arm around my waist and kisses my temple. "It should be just a few minutes," he whispers into my hair.

"What did you do to that poor girl?" Alice teases.

"Me?" Edward asks in mock-shock. "I didn't do anything. I just explained the situation and she agreed to help."

Jasper laughs, "What _exactly_ did you tell her?"

"That I'm marrying the love of my life tomorrow and I _need_ to make tonight special for her," Edward answers, giving me a squeeze as he explains.

Before we can continue giving Edward a hard time, the hostess politely interrupts us, "Mr. Cullen." Edward turns to face her, giving her another dazzling smile. She immediately blushes, "You're table is ready. Follow me, please."

I can't help but smile as we make our way through the quiet tables. _1500 Ocean_ is very elegant and very beautiful. The colors are warm and soothing and remind me of the beach that lies outside. The hostess leads us to the most elegant booth I have ever seen. The warm, tan, banquette seating flanks a white, table-clothed table and the planked walls are a complimentary tan that appears to be a shade lighter than the banquette's upholstery. On either side of the booth, white linen curtains soften lightly stained cherry beams that separate each party's booth.

The hostess steps aside so that we can slide in. The guys sit first knowing that, more than likely, Alice and I will have to use the restroom before they will. The hostess introduces herself as Tia and sets our menus on the table in front of us. She smiles and looks around our table, "Jared will be your waiter tonight and he will be with you in just a minute."

Her eyes quickly dart to Edward one last time. Edward smiles sweetly at her as he says, "Thank you, Tia. We really appreciate all of your help tonight."

Tia smiles again, "Your welcome. I'm glad I could help. Please enjoy your evening." She turns to walk away just as our waiter approaches the table. Tia places her hand on the waiter's arm and quietly whispers something to him. Jared smiles and nods and then turns his attention to us.

He quickly introduces himself and goes over the menu and course selections. Before he walks away he takes our drink orders and then tells us he will be back in a few minutes to take our order or answer any questions we may have.

After looking over the menu we all decide on our typical things. Alice wants chicken, I want fish, Jasper wants pork and Edward wants steak. We all decide to order different sides and desserts so that we can all get a good sample of what the restaurant has to offer. Jared comes in at the tail end of our conversation with our drinks and agrees that our idea is a very good one. He adeptly takes our orders and asks if we would like any wine with our dinner. Alice and I nod and Edward tells Jared to go with whatever wines are pre-selected. Jared just nods and walks towards the kitchen to place our order.

Jasper and Edward begin talking about the progress with the construction at Alice's boutique. I reach over and place my hand on Edward's firm thigh and give him a light squeeze. He smiles slightly, but continues talking to Jazz. He rests his hand on mine and gives me a reassuring squeeze back.

"Bella?" Alice says loudly, trying to get my attention.

I slide a bit closer to Edward and look across the table at Alice, "yeah?" I answer.

"Didn't you just love the Ball room?" she begins excitedly. And before I can answer she starts in with her plans and ideas for the wedding. She never really asks my opinion and I just nod in agreement. Her plans are right on the mark… perfect really.

Out of nowhere, Edward takes my hand and pulls it up between his legs, pressing my hand down onto his semi-hard cock and I already can't wait to get home.

"Bella, let's go to the restroom," Alice changes the subject.

"Ok," I answer and lean over to kiss Edward. I tell him, "I'll be right back," and give him a quick peck on the lips.

"Hurry back," he grumbles and pats my ass as I get out of the booth.

Alice begins chattering about the rehearsal dinner and that we should have it here. I quickly agree, because the place is gorgeous. "If the foods good, absolutely," I answer.

On our way back to our seats Alice tells me to go on ahead, "I need to talk to the manager about the rehearsal dinner." I go on because she's got it all under control and I would probably just get in the way.

My first course is waiting for me at the table when I slide back in next to Edward. His hand quickly goes high on my thigh and squirm a little under his touch. "Drink your wine," he prods and I do what I'm told and take a sip. The wine is a bit dry for my taste, but it does bring out some interesting flavors in my food, so I continue to sip as I eat. By the time Alice returns to the table I already feel deliciously warm from my glass of wine.

Jasper asks, "What took you so long?"

Alice slides over and gives him a kiss, "Wedding stuff." Jasper just nods and Alice immediately begins eating. It takes her a bite or two and then she is "oohing" and "awing" over her salad and then she begins taking bits of food from each of our plates. Her moaning over the food becomes too much and the three of us can't help but laugh at her.

When she realizes what we are doing she glances around the table at the three of us with wide-eyes and defensively asks, "What?"

I stop giggling long enough to ask, "When was the last time you got laid?"

Jasper chokes and sputters on his food sending bits and pieces flying across the table at Edward. Quickly juking towards me, Edward dodges the debris. Alice turns bright red. And I lose it, giggling harder than I had been the moment prior. Edward pulls me against him and laughs with me. Jasper mutters, "Shit" and Alice just shakes her head.

"Alright, smart ass," Alice smiles at me. "For your information, I haven't eaten all day, and this is _really_ good."

"I can tell," I tease.

"Oh, and I got laid this morning, thank you very much," Alice throws back causing Jasper to choke on his wine this time and Edward and I to bust out laughing.

The rest of the dinner is filled with delicious food, great wine and subtle groping under the table. And by the time supper is over, Edward and I are ready to get home and be alone. We say our goodbyes as Jasper and Alice get into his car and we all head back to the house. Before we head into the garage Edward squeezes my hand and asks, "I know it's a bit chilly tonight, but do you want to go sit out on the rocks?"

"Sure," I answer quietly, "I just need to grab a jacket and a blanket, so we aren't sitting on the cold rocks." We quietly head upstairs to grab the appropriate items. Edward disappears into the kitchen while I head upstairs to find a blanket.

I'm rummaging around in the spare bedroom closet looking for a specific blanket, when a warm hand on the small of my back startles me, making me scream and shoot up into the air and spin around, only to find Edward bright red and laughing at me.

"You ass," I gasp as I smack his arm. He flinches slightly, but continues laughing at me. I begin to pout when he grabs my hips and pulls me against him.

"Awe, come on, Love," he laughs and kisses my temple. He leans away and raises a hand to my chin, tilting my face towards his. His bottle green eyes begin scorching my brown. "Don't be mad," he growls and then his lips crash into mine.

I wrap my arms around his neck and his arms are quickly around my back holding me tight against his firm chest. Edward easily lifts me off of the ground and holds me in the air as his mouth devours mine. His tongue is insistent and demanding. I try to pull away, because I need to catch my breath, but his mouth follows mine and he bites down slightly on my bottom lip making me gasp in surprise. He leans back in kisses me harder this time and then he slowly begins to back out of the spare bedroom. I wrap my legs around his waist and immediately feel his erection press against my middle. I move my hips against his and it feels so fucking good that I can't help but groan into his mouth. Edward palms my ass as we make our way down the hall to our bedroom. Before I realize what he's doing, I'm being thrown back onto our bed.

I look up at Edward as he pulls his shirt over his head and immediately looks down at me and grabs my left ankle and pulls me to him making me squeal. His quick hands come up and make easy work of my pants, unzipping them and yanking them down my legs in what seems like one swift motion. Edward has his crooked, sexy-as-hell, half-grin plastered across his face as he grabs a hold of each of my ankles and I feel myself getting exponentially wetter. He pulls me down so that my ass is at the edge of the bed and then leans over and pushes my shirt up and pulls my bra out of his way. His mouth instantly begins devouring my tits. He's sucking and biting and when it becomes too much and I begin to squirm against him, he moves to the other. It feels so good. I need more… I need friction… I need penetration… I need him.

I arch up against him and Edward's hand comes to my hip and pushes me back down on the bed. "Please," I groan in frustration and Edward just shakes his head and bites down on the top of my left breast. He sucks hard on the bite and my insides begin to vibrate knowing that he is marking me. "Fuck," I gasp knowing that he already has me so worked up that I am going to cum quickly when he actually fucks me.

His hand finally makes its' way between my legs and he runs his fingers between my wet lips. "You're so fucking wet," he growls against my chest. He makes a few circles around my clit and the sensation is already too much and I'm already groaning and panting and on the verge of cumming. Edward begins kissing his way down my chest and stomach until he settles between my legs. He kisses the top of my slit and then pulls back and licks his way down my pussy. For a brief moment he fucks me with his tongue to tease me further. Finally, he replaces his tongue with his fingers as he moves up to suck on my clit. He works his fingers and tongue in the same rhythm and quickly sends me flying over the edge, making me cum all over his hand and mouth. He slowly pulls his hand away and kisses the top of my mound and then kisses a trail down to the union of my thigh and my sex. He kisses me once, twice and on the third he bites into my skin again and I can't help but scream out. His fingers quickly find my clit and begin to work me towards another orgasm as he sucks mercilessly on my delicate skin. I try to scramble my way up the bed and away from Edward's wicked mouth, but he grabs my hips and easily keeps me where he wants me on the bed. He pushes me up a bit on the bed and settles himself on his knees and between my legs.

Edward leans forward; placing his hands on either side of my head and kisses me gently. I eagerly kiss him back, tasting myself on his lips, as feel the weight of his hard, lean body against mine. Edward pulls back and easily adjusts himself so that the head of his thick cock is pushing against my entrance. The heat from is dick is already too much and I fight the urge to writhe down and impale myself on his length. He pushes himself into me slowly and it's fucking agonizing. I move against him and he stills his movement.

"Don't move," he growls into my neck, "or I'll pull out." I groan in frustration, but keep my hips still. "Good girl," he whispers and kisses me. I open my mouth and kiss him a bit deeper. I tease his tongue like I'm licking his cock and he immediately slams his hips hard against mine making me groan aloud.

He pulls out again slowly and then in again at the same agonizing pace. I shift my hips again trying to get more, but he pulls in the opposite direction teasing me, making me want him even more than I already do. I go for his mouth again, hoping to encourage him. But, he pulls his mouth away from mine. I lean up with my mouth and kiss his chest, the only part of him that I can reach. I can't help but look down and see where we are joined. His perfect cock is glistening with my wetness and moving slowly in and out of my aching body. Edward must notice that I'm looking because he asks, "it's fucking beautiful isn't it?" I groan out a "yes" and start to slowly move my hips against his. He allows me to move with him as long as I continue to watch us, but he keeps the pace slow and deep. When I can't take it anymore and my body begins to shake against his as I come undone. I bury my face in shoulder and hold on to him with all of the strength I can muster.

Edward begins to push harder against me and I know he's close when he whispers my name with a quick "oh god" behind it. I decide that it's my turn to mark him and begin sucking the skin on his collar bone. I bite a little harder into his skin and he cums and then collapses on top of me, not bothering to save me from his heavy body. I love the feel of his weight on me, but like always he's only there for a moment before he rolls onto his side while leaving an arm and leg draped over my body.

I fall asleep excited about tomorrow. I know I need to call our parents and let them know what is going on and I know that they will understand. But, I can't help the anxiety that is building in my chest. Edward's leaving… for real this time. We don't know where he's going or when he's coming back and it fucking sucks.

* * *

**a/n: Thank you for taking the time to read and extra special love for those who take the time to review! I appreciate all of you, but reviews make me want to write more... I will not give up on this story. There are 4 or 5 more chapter left and I am determined to finish it.**

**I'm sorry this is so short, but I wanted to update considering it's been two and half weeks since the last and this seemed like the best place to stop. I am already working on the next chapter and hope to update by Wednesday. **

**On a side note... I have a blog where I have posted pics for Man of Honor and I also keep everyone updated on the status of my chapters. Come check it out... www(dot)jenpall(dot)blogspot(dot)com**


	18. Chapter 17

**I do not own twilight or it's characters... but I do love them so...**

**Sorry for the delay longer a/n at the bottom...**

**happy reading!**

* * *

I'm having the sweetest dream… Edward and I are lying out on the beach across from the house. The sun is beaming down, warming us against the cool breeze coming off the Pacific Ccean. I dig my toes into the warm sand, finding the cooler sand beneath. I hear Alice calling my name from the house. It's faint at first, and Edward tells me that I should probably get up and go see what she wants. I shrug and smile while telling him, "I'm happy where I'm at." He smiles at me and takes my hand, bringing it up to his lips and then placing a soft kiss on the back of my hand. As he sets our hands back down on my stomach he shakes my hand, shaking my body along with it. I laugh and tell him, "Stop." And then Alice's voice becomes very loud and very clear, "Bella, wake the hell up… you're getting married today."

I abruptly open my eyes and sit up in my bed, only to find Alice sitting down on the side of my bed, grinning at me like the Cheshire cat. "Morning," she says quietly as she offers me a cup of tea.

"Morning," I reply, still trying to get my bearings, but more than relieved that I put on pajamas when I got out of bed in the middle of the night. "Where's Edward?" I mumble.

"He's with Jasper," Alice is absolutely beaming. Surely, it can't be because of the civil ceremony Edward and I will be having.

"What are you doing here?" I grumble as I look over at the clock. It's only 7:00 am and it's much too early for Alice's shenanigans.

Alice places one her hands on my knee and whispers, "I have a surprise for you."

"Come on, Al… it's way too early for surprises… just spit it out already," I whine.

She looks up at the ceiling coyly and smiles, "I actually have quite a few surprises for you today. And as your best friend _and_ your wedding planner it is my _mission_ to make today as perfect and as wonderful as I can."

"Oh, hell, what have you done?" I can't help but wonder what in the world she had in store for me and when in the hell she had any time in the last twenty four hours to accomplish anything.

Alice giggles and I swallow hard. "First, you need to eat some breakfast. So, sit back and enjoy... LADIES?" Alice bellows.

Motion at my bedroom door catches my eye and I look over to see Esme walking in carrying a platter, then Kate comes next carrying another, then Angela. I smile up at my friends, so happy to have them with me, but immediately feeling the loss of Rose and my mother. But, before I can process the idea of getting married without them, there they are… standing hand-in-hand at the foot of my bed. I hand my mug of tea off to Alice as I jump out of my bed and run over to my mother and Rose and wrapped my arms around the two of them.

I'm already crying when I ask, "How did you get here so fast?"

Renee just laughs and says, "That wonderful daughter-in-law of mine."

I give them another squeeze and then turn back to Alice. She's bouncing on her toes like Tigger on crack as her eyes fill up with tears. I immediately hug her, crying on her shoulder I tell her, "Thank you. I think I'm going to owe you big time after today."

She laughs, and then pulls back and looks me dead in my eyes, "Just throw me a kick-ass baby shower and we'll call it even."

I gasp and stop immediately in my tracks. "Are you?"

Alice nods and tears begin to stream down her face. I hug her again and this time Esme joins in hugging the pair of us, then Rose, then Renee and finally Kate and Angela. By the time we conclude our group hug, we are all blubbering messes. Alice is bombarded with questions about her due date, which unofficially is August. Apparently, she and Jasper never made it to the specialist. It happened naturally while they were distracted with other things.

Alice quickly turns the focus back to me and makes me a croissant, with a side of fruit and a glass of milk. Everyone follows suit making their own breakfast plates and sitting about the room. Before I can finish my fruit, Alice tells me, "Your appointment is at 11:00am and I have a few more surprises in store." I nod and she walks over to my closet and yells, "Close your eyes, Bella!"

I eagerly oblige and yell out to her, "their closed."

It seems like she's gone for only a second when I hear her say, "Ok, open them."

I open my eyes to see Alice standing in front of me holding a white, tea-length gown. The dress is beautiful. The top is a simple v-neck bodice with delicate embroidery and pearl details around the entire neck-line and the skirt of the gown is simple and full. The dress is absolutely perfect. I look up at her, trying not to let my emotions get the better of me. "Oh, Al… I love it! Did you?"

Alice smiles widely and nods her head enthusiastically. "Are you sure you like it? Because I have another option if you don't."

"Alice, no, it's perfect. I love it." I get up off the bed and give her a tight hug. "Thank you," I whisper into her ear.

She steps back and laughs, "Don't thank me yet… there's plenty more to come." I just shake my head at her in amazement. Alice truly is a force of nature. "Okay," she answers and then quickly switches into wedding planner mode, "You need to be getting into the shower," she pauses for a second and scans the room and then looks back to me and says, "now," with expectantly raised eyebrows. Alice quickly looks to Rose, "take her and get her going." Rose nods and comes and takes my arms, pulling me towards my bathroom. I hear Alice starting to order my Mom and Esme around the room.

Once we are in the bathroom Rose immediately starts the shower and then turns to face me. "I can't believe you're getting married today," she practically squeals.

I can't help but smile, "I know, right."

Rose nods towards the shower, "Get in there. The Pixie has us on a tight schedule today and you only have twenty minutes. So, make it good."

I walk over to the shower and undress and quickly step into the shower and under the warm spray of water. I can see Rose milling around the vanity looking for something. "What are you doing?" I ask her.

"I'm getting your make-up and hair stuff set-up," she answers quickly.

"You're in charge of that for the day?" I ask as I start washing my hair.

"You got it!" Rose answers.

Alice walks into the bathroom and immediately begins talking, "I have lingerie for you to pick from and then you need to put on this robe because it will be mani/pedi time."

Before I can answer she is out of the room in a flash of black spiky hair.

I quickly scrub, shave and rinse; making it out of the shower in record time. I wrap myself in one of the fluffy, extra-large, bath sheets and find Rose sitting in the chair at my vanity. She smiles up at me and points to several hangers of lingerie that are hanging about the room, "You need to go through those and pick something to wear under your dress."

I walk over and immediately begin setting the one's I do not like to the side. After years of shopping with Alice, I definitely know how to pare down my options. There are lots of bra/panty/ garter belts combos that are beautiful, but nothing that really screams 'getting married today' to me.

When my hand settles on a satiny, royal blue baby-doll, I pull it down and take a better look at it. There are ruffles around the hem that go all the way around to the back and ruffles on the back of the matching panties. I show Rose, "I think Edward would like this for tonight. What do you think?"

Rose eyes the piece of satin for a moment and then smiles, "Yeah, that man does love you in blue doesn't he?" I just nod and smile as Rose comes over to stand next to me. "Have you picked on for under your dress?"

"No," I mutter as I shift a few more hangers around.

Rose steps around me and immediately pulls the perfect bustier down to show me, "What about this?" she beams.

It a simple white bustier with a small bit of corseting that separates the side panels from the front. The front panel is embroidered with black flowers that also cover the cups of the bustier. Thin black straps and black garters coordinate with the embroidery on the top as well as the matching panties.

"It's perfect, Rose," I tell my friend as she begins taking the bustier off the hanger.

Rose hands me the lingerie and says, "Now, get dressed before Alice has my head." Rose walks out of the bathroom, but not before telling me, "I'll be right back." She quietly closes the door behind her and I drop my towel to the floor. I quickly twist my hair up into a messy bun and slather my entire body in Edward's favorite, freesia scented body lotion. I slide on the bustier and panties and figure I should wait before putting on my stockings, remembering Alice saying something about pedicures.

Rose peeks her head in the bathroom door and snickers, "You decent?"

"Yep," I tell her and she comes in the rest of the way.

"You might want to put your robe on for the mani/pedi." I nod and put on my robe.

The next two hours are filled with manicures and pedicures, champagne, make-up and hair, more champagne, Alice flitting around the room making sure everyone has what they need, and finally putting on my dress.

Rose places large, loose curls around my hair while keeping it swept back off my face. The make-up she chooses is very subtle and warm and just like everything else today… perfect. Alice is standing over Roses' shoulder watching her carefully. She glances down at her watch and then smiles up at me. "Let's get your dress on, shall we?"

I nod and stand up as Rose starts packing away the make-up. Alice holds the dress out in front of me and I step into the billowy skirt. She quickly slides it up my arms and steps behind me and quickly zips up the back. The dress fits perfectly. The cut is simple, but the embroidery and pearled details make the dress elegant.

My eyes are welling up with tears and my emotions are threatening to overwhelm me. "Oh, Alice," I whisper quietly as I take in my reflection.

"NO! No crying!" Alice blurted, snapping out of my emotional moment. She quickly takes my hand and tells me, "There's no need to cry… you look beautiful."

I squeeze her hand, "Alice, the dress is perfect. Thank you."

Alice hugs me again and says, "Like I said before … Kick. Ass. Baby. Shower." The three of us laugh for a second before Alice remembers she has a schedule to keep. "Alright, shoes and jewelry and then we need to take some pics and then we can get the hell out of here."

I follow Alice back out into my bedroom and find the photographer taking pictures of all of my friends. All of the girls have changed into a very simple, strapless, tea-length, light-blue dresses and each of them are holding a very small blue hydrangea bouquet and standing together in front of the French doors that lead out to the balcony.

My Mom and Esme are standing off to the side smiling at me. Esme is wearing a deep-bronze, almost brown tea-length dress. The color compliments her bronze licks perfectly. Her dress looks to be two pieces: a taffeta jacket and with a coordinating, lace-covered taffeta dress beneath. Renee chose a teal, tea-length dress, also made out of lace and taffeta. Her dress is also two pieces, except the bolero jacket is made of teal lace and bodice of her dress is made of teal lace-covered taffeta. The skirt of Renee's dress is layered taffeta. I'm a bit surprised by my Mom's choice in dress. Not that she has bad taste or anything, but her dress seems far more elegant than anything she would have chosen in the past.

I can't help but smile back and tell them, "You both look so beautiful."

My Mom quickly comes over and pulls me into a hug. "You are the one who looks beautiful, sweetheart."

"Thanks, Mom," I whisper as I hug her back. I pull back slightly and smile, "I love your dress."

"Alice did it," she says quietly.

"Ok, you two," Alice interrupts after hearing her name. "Here are you shoes," Alice says as she hands me a pair of three-strap white, very high-heeled Mary Jane's.

I take the shoes and literally gulp when I see the four-inch heel. "Al, I'm going to…"

"Shhhhh," she cuts me off. "These shoes are Christian Louboutin and they are going to feel better than _any_ of the other heels you own. They are going to look beautiful and you WILL be fine."

"Ok," I mutter as Alice snatches the shoes out of my hands and quickly kneels down to help me put them on. The photographer comes over and snaps a quick photo of the two of us and then introduces herself.

"Hi, you are obviously Bella," she begins and I nod, "I'm Devin. Alice hired me for the January date, but when she called and filled me in out what's going on I immediately agreed to take care of today, too."

"Thank you for doing this on such short notice. We appreciate it," I reply politely.

"You are welcome," she grins and then lifts her camera up, "I need to get back on task." Devin takes a couple more shots of Alice as she finishes buckling my second shoe and then she begins moving around the room taking various shots of all of us.

After Alice stands up, Esme presents me with a bright blue gift bag. She takes my hand and tells me, "This is from Edward."

As I open the bag, I fight to hold back the tears that have begun to well up in my eyes. I pull out the envelope that is lying on top of whatever lies inside. I open the envelope and take a deep breath…

_Good morning Love,_

_It wasn't supposed to happen like this, but here we are. And I can't wait. I love you, beautiful, and I will see you in a little bit. I hope you are enjoying your day. _

_All my love,_

_Edward_

I'm biting my bottom lip, trying not to lose it. It's been difficult to not lose it all morning, but my girl-friends have been doing a great job of distracting me. Kate comes over and takes the bag form me and holds it open, "Come on, Bells, you can do this."

I smile up at her and reach into the bag. I feel two bow covered boxes and take the smaller of the two out and hold the small blue box in my hand. I take a deep breath and Alice blurts, "Open it!" and everyone erupts into giggles. I slowly pull open the bow and open the box and find a pair of pearl and diamond earrings. There are four small, round diamonds set in a platinum plus-shaped setting, with one large pearl dangling from each earring. The pearls match the pearl detail in my dress and I know that Alice had a hand in Edward's purchase.

"They're beautiful," I say quietly and hold them out for everyone to see. My Mom takes them out of the box and helps me put them in. "Thanks, Mom," I tell her and she gives me a kiss on the cheek.

"There's something else in here," Kate says as she gives the bag a little shake.

I quickly dive back in and pull out the last box. It is bigger than the earring box, but not big enough to be a necklace. I ease off the second bow and open the lid of the box. Resting inside the box is a matching pearl and diamond bracelet. Each of the pearls are separate by three round diamonds that look to be the same size as the diamonds in my earrings.

"Here," Esme says quietly as she holds out her hand. I hand her the box and she quickly takes the bracelet out as I offer her my wrist. She secures the clasp and kisses my cheek. "It's going to be official today," she smiles.

"What?" I ask, not sure what she's really meaning.

"Well, it's silly really, because I have considered you to be a member of our family since you were a little girl. But, today you're _legally_ a Cullen." Esme offers me a wide-grin and I can't help but smile back at her.

Before I can say anything to Esme, Alice breaks in, "Ok, Ladies we have forty minutes to get to the courthouse. Let's get a move on."

Everyone scatters around the room and picks up their bouquets and a small light blue clutch that coordinates with their dresses. Angela comes over and hands me my larger bouquet and gives me a hug. I had expected a larger, but very simple Hydrangea bouquet that would echo the girls' bouquets. But, instead I was given very large and very heavy bouquet filled with _very_ light blue Hydrangeas, large white Roses and white Freesia with Light green roses and greenery fill the space between the larger flowers.

"You look beautiful, Bella," Ang sighs as she steps back, a smile donning her sweet face, "I love your bouquet."

"Thank you, I'm so glad you're here and I'm sorry we haven't been able to talk much today."

Angela laughs, "It's not like Alice really gave us a whole lot of time to sit and chit-chat."

Angela and I follow the other ladies as they file out of my bedroom and into the elevator down the hall. "I know," I smile, being the last one to enter the elevator. I turn to face my friends and family and smile, "I just want to thank each and every one of you for being here today and making my day even more perfect. And Alice, as if you don't already know this, you fucking rock." My friends all start laughing, while my mother chastises my language.

The elevator stops on the ground floor and I'm a little surprised that we aren't going to the garage. "Alright, Ladies, out front," Alice orders and we all traipse through the house. Alice takes my arm and hands me a small package of Kleenex and some tinted lip-gloss, "there are pockets in the dress." I nod run my hand along the dress, easily finding the pockets. I stow my supplies inside and let Alice lead me out the front door. She quickly snaps orders for us to take pictures here on the patio, another with the girls on the steps, and more across the street by the boulders. She looks at her watch and mumbles something about getting the Ocean shots later. Alice glances down the street and begins to look agitated.

"You ok?" I ask, not wanting her to have a conniption.

"Yep," she snaps and then looks up over at me. "You look gorgeous today, Bells."

"Yeah, thanks to you," I grin at her.

"Pffft… whatever," she scoffs and waves me off as she looks back down the street and her face lights up. I turn, only to see a black, stretch limousine pull up in front of us.

The driver quickly gets out and immediately starts apologizing for being a few minutes late. He opens the door and begins assisting each of us into the limo: The mom's first, the photographer, then Angela and Kate, Rose is next, then me and finally Alice. Before the car begins to move the driver tells us that there are drinks in the ice buckets on each end of the limo and that we should make it to the courthouse in about ten minutes.

Rose turns to me and Alice and asks, "Have you heard from the guys, yet?"

I shake my head no and Alice answers, "Yes, Jazz texted me when they left to go to the courthouse."

"Where were they this morning?" I ask Alice.

She smiles her sneaky, imp smile, and says, "Downstairs."

"All morning?" I shriek and she nods. "If you hadn't done such a spectacular job surprising me with all of this I would so pinch you right now." The four girls all start laughing at us. "Plus you're all knocked up and crap. I can't abuse a pregnant woman…" I add under my breath. I shift a bit to face Alice and ask, "How did you get all this done on such short notice?"

"Well," she begins, "The dress was supposed to be your reception dress and I already had the Mom's and our dresses ready from last years' line. I had all of the vendors lined up for January and they all agreed to help, considering the situation."

"To _help_?" I ask raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"Let's just say… well, money talks," she answerers bluntly and I just nod, knowing that I will need to get used to that concept.

I turn back to Rose, "Have you talked to Emmett?"

She nods shyly, "Yeah, we spent the night together last night," she says quietly.

"Oh, really," I tease and she just nods. "So, how did that work out for you?" I giggle.

"It was nice," she says lightly, "we had dinner and talked almost all night and…"

"Come on Rose, spill it," Alice urges and Angela and Kate laugh quietly.

"Nothing happened, guys, _nothing_," she says trying to shut us down.

"Nothing? Not even a kiss?" I ask, knowing Rose better than that. "There's _no way_ that _nothing_ happened, especially when you are planning on moving across the freaking country to be with him."

"Fine," Rose grumbles, "We kissed. I slept in his bed and he slept on his couch. You satisfied?" She glares at me.

"Wow, is Emmett making you behave?" Alice scoffs.

"Bite me, Alice," Rose grumbles.

"Oh, hell," I laugh, "He is making you behave, isn't he?"

"Yes," she groans, "and it's infuriating. He wants to wait until I'm here permanently before we go any further."

I can't help but chuckle when Alice pipes up, "Well, good for him!" And I swear I hear Rose growl and that just makes me laugh harder.

Before I stop laughing the limousine comes to stop in front of the Court House and the driver is opening the car door. Alice steps outside and assists the driver in helping me out. Alice pulls me aside and begins fussing over my hair and dress. "You look beautiful, Bells," she glances over her shoulder and then looks back to me, "the guys are inside waiting on us. You ready?"

"Absolutely," I grin at my best friend.

Alice gets everyone lined up and ready to go and we head inside. I'm not really paying attention. The only thing on my mind is finding Edward. I just can't wait to see his handsome face. Rose squeezes my hand and asks, "You getting nervous?"

I just smile and answer honestly, "Absolutely not."

"You sure? You look like you're getting fidgety," she prods.

I squeeze her hand and answer, "Rose, I have never been more sure of anything in my entire life."

"You need him don't you?" she asks quietly.

"Like the air I breathe," I smile.

She nods ahead of us, "There they are."

My head snaps forward and I see my Dad and Carlisle standing in the hallway a little further ahead of us. Alice begins asking our Dad's questions before we even get to them. Carlisle nods and ducks into the open door beside them. Charlie just turns around with a big grin on his face and shakes his head.

Alice throws her hands on her hips and barks, "Charlie!"

"Chill out, Pixie… it's all fine," Charlie grumbles as he tries to peer around my entourage to find me.

I can't help but smile at my Dad. He is one of the few people that has ever gotten away with putting Alice in her place and I love it. He steps forward and kisses my Mom on her cheek and takes her hand and pulls her out of line to find me. As soon as he sees me his entire face lights up, "There's my girl," he practically yells.

"Hi, Daddy," I can't help but blush at his enthusiastic greeting.

He takes my hand and slowly twirls me around, "You look absolutely stunning, baby girl," and then he abruptly pulls me into a hug. "Edward's waiting for you. There are some forms you need to fill out." I nod against his chest, enjoying this moment of utter joy I'm sharing with my father.

I pull back a bit, "Ok, I should go in." Charlie kisses my forehead and I pull back the rest of the way and move towards the office door.

But, before I can make it to the door Alice stand in front of me, glaring, with her hands on her hips. "Now, you hold on one second while I get Edward."

I'm really getting annoyed with her bossy little ass, but I'm the idiot who put her in charge. So, it's really my own damn fault. I'm almost too busy berating myself to see Edward appear in front of me… I said _almost_.

It's literally like one second he wasn't there and then in the blink of an eye here is… all clean-cut chiseled jaw, blazing green eyes and navy blue uniform. His beauty takes my breath away. I reach out for his hand and he meets me half way, taking my hand into his.

"Breathe, Baby," he whispers and I do. I take a deep breath and smile up at him.

"Hi," I whisper, making him smile his wicked crooked grin.

"Hi," he answers. "You ready?" he asks and I nod.

He pulls me slowly into the office and everything around us disappears. We sit and fill out paperwork, we answer questions. But all I see is Edward. He's all I hear and his hand in mind keeps me anchored in the moment. At some point, we are led out of the office into another room where are family is waiting for us. We stand in front of the Marriage Commissioner facing one another. He asks us questions. We say yes… we say I do… but all I see is Edward. He leans in and kisses me sweetly on the lips and then we are engulfed by our friends and family. We are married.

After we all calm down, Edward pulls me into his chest and wraps his arms around me. He kisses the top of my head and tells me, "You look absolutely beautiful." I squeeze him tightly and whisper a thank you into his chest. He kisses the top of my head. "Love," he says quietly into my hair, "We need to go take care of some paperwork on the base before we have to meet back up with everyone." I just nod as he slowly releases me from his arms.

Edward keeps my hand in his and we head towards the door. Alice is trying to wait patiently for us at the door, but you can see her vibrating with anticipation. "Has she been like this all day?" Edward chuckles.

"No, she's actually been pretty good up until now. She looks worried," I tell him.

As soon as we make it to her she pounces. "Ok, you two… we need to take a couple of shots out front of the Court house and then you guys need to get on base." She pauses and then looks directly at Edward, "You know where to be at 4:00, right?"

"I got it, Al," he says sweetly and then grabs her with his free hand and pulls her into a hug. "Thank you for everything, Sis," he tells her. "You made this day absolutely amazing."

"Thanks, big brother," she smiles up at him sweetly, "But, it's not over yet. Now, let's get downstairs."

It doesn't take Devin very long to get the pictures she needed and then Edward and I are on our way to the in Edward's Volvo. "Wow," Edward mutters while he drives.

"What?" I ask.

"That happened really quickly," he smiles and then reaches over to hold my hand.

"Yeah, I can't believe all that Alice was able to accomplish on such short notice," I smile over at him.

"I agree. Alice could solve all the worlds' problems in a day, if she had the right motivation," Edward chuckles and I follow his lead and join him in a good laugh.

I glance around and take in my surroundings and realize that we aren't near the base. "Where are we going?"

"The DMV," Edward answers, "We need to get your name changed on your Driver's License before we can get your military ID."

"Oh, ok," I reply, not really looking forward to standing in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles at lunch time. "How long do you think this is going to take us?"

"Well, the DMV shouldn't be any longer than an hour. The stuff on base shouldn't take too long," he winks at me.

"What's with the wink?"

"I have a friend in the Personnel Office that will be there until 4:00 and he said he will get everything ready so we can get in and out."

"That's good. Anything thing else we have to do?" I already want to be done with all of the paperwork. We would ordinarily have more time to get everything, but Edward's team is on call and could leave any minute.

"We need to go by the lawyer and by the time we are done with that it should be about time to meet up with everyone," Edward answers matter-of-factly.

We pull into a parking lot and Edward easily finds a space. Edward goes to pull his hand away from mine, but I grip his hand tighter in mine. He looks over at me and smiles. He eyes my expression for a moment and then asks, "What is it?"

I look into his vivid green eyes and see a bit of worry. "Do you know when you're leaving yet?" I ask quietly.

He leans over the middle console and pulls me into a hug. "I haven't heard anything," he whispers into my hair.

"Is that good or bad?" I ask not sure if I really want to know the answer to that question.

"It's good. Masterchief knows that we are getting married and he would have told me if we didn't have enough time." He pauses for a moment and kisses the top of my head. "The earliest would be tomorrow afternoon," he says in a hesitant whisper.

"Ok, I can handle that." I pull my head away from his chest and look up at him. His face is hard and solemn and I don't want him to feel this way on our wedding day. "Baby," I say sweetly and then push myself up and kiss his sweet lips. I lean away and take his face between my hands, "just focus on us, today, ok?"

"Ok," he whispers as he dips down and kisses me with more intensity than our last kiss. His mouth is hard against mine. When he squeezes me tighter, I gasp against his mouth. Edward takes it as an invitation and quickly plunges his tongue into my mouth and begins teasing my own. Before I can encourage him further, Edward slows our kiss by kissing my just my top lip and then my bottom and then finally coming to rest with his forehead resting against mine. "Let's go get this shit taken care of so I can get you home," he grins and kisses the tip of my nose.

"Let's go," I smile.

Edward suddenly sits back in his seat, grabs a large manila envelope and his wallet. He flies out of his side of the car and is opening my door and offering me his hand to help me out of the car.

I spend the next two hours watching Edward dazzle every woman and man we come in contact with. At the DMV, when we are faced with a line that almost went out the door, Edward flashed his sexy-as-hell grin at the middle-aged woman behind the counter who about passed out, but instead she moved us up to the front of the line just so she didn't have to take her eyes off my husband. What could have taken hours takes twenty minutes.

When we get to the over-crowded Personnel Office on the base, Edward immediately walks up to the front desk and asks for his friend, Robert. Initially, the receptionist doesn't look up from her computer and tells Edward to put his name on the list and Robert will be with us in turn. Edward leans down so that he is at her eye level and sweetly explains the situation. He tilts his head just so and she blushes. But, when he smiles a full-blown smile at one of her jokes, she doesn't stand a chance and quickly picks up the phone and calls Robert to the front desk. Robert shakes both of our hands and quickly takes us back to his cubicle. He walks past his desk and throws open a file that had been lying on his desk. "Alright, guys, I know you have a time limit and you want to get out of here as fast as you can. So, I will explain the documents as we go, hand it off to Edward to sign and then we'll get you to sign, ok?" he smiles as he looks up at me and I nod ready to get this show on the road.

The first things we do is change Edward's marital status and listing me as his dependent. Edward fills out and signs a form that Robert quickly reviews and then enters the data into his computer. The second is enrolling me for medical benefits. I fill out the form, I sign and then Edward signs, Robert reviews and then types the information into the computer. The next form we fill out is for my Military ID. Instead of entering it into the computer he tells us, "Before you leave this office I will make a call to the next office over and they will get you right in to get this taken care of."

"What will we have to do?" I ask.

"Nothing really," he smiles, "They will just take your picture and issue you your ID. But, my phone call will guarantee you won't wait."

"Cool," I mutter.

"Ok," Robert says as he hands Edward another piece of paper, "This is for listing Bella as your next of kin." Robert continues explaining, but I stopped listening when he said 'next of kin'.

My mind instantly begins whirling and I can't breathe. I tell myself that I'm not going to ever have to use it. That he's going to be fine. That he's going to come home… it's all going to be fine. "Edward?" I gasp, my mind still buzzing with panic.

At the sound of my voice, Edward's head snaps up from the form and over to me. He sees my panic and quickly pulls my chair closer to his and turns his to face mine. "Love," he says evenly, "just breathe." His emerald gaze steadies mine and I take a deep breath. "Rob, can we have a minute?" he asks without breaking eye contact with me. I vaguely register Robert leaving his office when Edward takes my hands into his. "Love, this is all just a formality. It's going to be ok," he tries to reassure me.

"I know," I whisper.

"Come here," he says and pulls me into his lap, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder. "I love you," he says into my ear and kisses the side of my neck. "We'll get through this, I promise."

"I know," I answer feeling a little stronger with his arms wrapped around me.

"Are you ok?" he asks with concern laced in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm ok. It just hit me hard when Robert said 'next of kin'."

I hear someone clear their throat and Edward and I both turn to see Robert standing in the entrance of his cubicle. "You two ready to finish up?" Robert asks.

"Sure," Edward answers quickly. I try to get up to return to my chair, but Edward holds tight, keeping me in his lap. "You're not going anywhere," he growls and playfully nips at my shoulder.

"Fine," I sigh. There are definitely worse places to sit. I sign the form and push it back over to Robert, who smiles apologetically at the two of us.

"Alright guys, this is the last one." Robert glances between the two of us and continues, "This form will list Bella as the beneficiary for your life insurance issued by the Navy."

I try not to think about it. I just take the pen and sign my name and then hand the pen to Edward. As he signs, Robert picks up the phone and makes a quick call. He looks over the paper and smiles, "Alright guys, you're set. Take this," he offers me a file, "and go to the next office down and ask for Kristen. She will get you in and out quickly."

Edward finally releases me from his lap and we both stand up. We both take a turn shaking Robert's hand and thanking him for his help. Hand-in-hand Edward and I walk down the hall towards the next office. Where, with a little bit of name dropping, we are in and out of the ID office in another thirty minutes.

"Are you hungry?" Edward asks as he starts his car.

"I could eat," I answer smiling over at him.

"There's a Starbucks near the lawyer's office. Would you like to stop there and grab some coffee and a snack?"

"Do we have enough time? I know Alice is expecting us."

Edward looks down at his watch and nods, "Yeah, we have plenty of time."

* * *

**a/n: I want to offer a quick thank you to lindyrb for helping me out with some details for this chapter... Thanks for the great review and the extra details :)**

**I'm sorry that I was not able to post again earlier this week... r/l just got in the way. I will post again next week, but I can't promise you a day...**

**I would love to, but I feel like crapola when I say I'm going to post and then I can't make the deadline. It wasn't for lack of trying, I just couldn't get it right... This chapter was originally supposed to cover the reception. But, I knew there was no way I could finish that tonight, or tomorrow, or Sunday. So, I had to stop it here because I really wanted to give you something.**

**Thank you for sticking with me ... please take some time and show me some love. **

**I will be posting pictures to my blog this weekend... the link is on my profile.**


	19. Chapter 18

**a/n: first of all I don't own Twilight, but I'm thankful to be allowed to play with its' characters...**

**Second of all, I know I have epically failed at updating this story lately and I'm sorry... I will attempt to grovel at the bottom :)**

**Lastly, happy reading and I appreciate every reader and adore every reviewer :)**

* * *

Edward wasn't lying when he said there was a Starbucks near the lawyer's office. What he didn't realize was that the Starbucks and lawyers office were literally next to one another. Edward laughs as we pull into Starbucks, "I'd be willing to bet that my lawyer owns that Starbucks."

"What makes you say that?" I ask.

"Well, let's just say he's a very shrewd and very wealthy man," he answers casually.

"Okay," I mutter, quickly dismissing the conversation.

Edward quickly navigates us through the Starbucks drive-thru: Ordering a pumpkin muffin and a vanilla Chai Latte for me and a blueberry scone and a black coffee for himself. He pulls the Volvo in a parking space by the Lawyer's Office doors.

"Let's just relax a minute before we go in," Edward says quietly as he sets his hand on my thigh.

I nod and take a sip of my Latte. "So, what are we doing here?"

"We just have to sign a few papers."

"Yeah? No shit?" I tease him, knowing damn well we will be signing papers. "What _kind_ of papers?" I ask trying to be more specific.

"Umm, Power of Attorney," he shifts slightly and looks at me tightly, as if he's waiting for my reaction.

"What?" I ask nervously, wondering why he's looking at me like that.

"I'm sorry," he shakes his head slightly. "I just keep waiting for you to tell me that this is all too much. And, I know you're going to be pissed at me for saying this, but I keep expecting you to change your mind."

I bite my tongue. I look down at his hand resting on my leg and want to scream. I wonder how long it's going to take for him to understand that I'm not going anywhere. That I'm here for the long haul. So, I ask, "What do I have to do?"

"What?" he snaps around and looks at me wide-eyed.

"What _exactly_ do I have to do to make you understand that I AM NOT GOING ANYWHERE? You're stuck with me, Cullen." I look over at him and see concern etched all over his face, "You got that?" I smile.

"I hear you," he smiles back, "and I'm sorry for doubting you."

"I get why. And now everything is happening so fast that it's all so incredible. But, you need to quit saying shit like that to me. Since we have gotten back together have I given you _any_ reason to doubt me?"

"No," he answers quietly.

"Then stop putting us through this. We shouldn't even be having this conversation. We should be happy and celebrating, not doing _this_," I use my hand to motion between the two of us.

Edward takes my hand into his and then kisses the back of it. "You're right, Love. I'm sorry. Let's get this paperwork shit taken care of and let's get back to our family, ok?"

I smile up at him, "Sounds good, Baby. Let's go."

Edward kisses my lips gently and then quickly gets out of the car and comes to open my car door. He holds out his hand and then says, "Mrs. Cullen?"

I can't help but giggle as I take his hand. He quickly pulls me against him and wraps his arms around me. "You look so beautiful," he kisses my cheek and then takes my hand and leads me into the lawyers' office. He walks us up to the receptionist and gives us our names and tells her who we are meeting. Before we can take a seat she stands and tells us that "Mr. Johnson will see you now." We turn around and follow her back to a large office in the back of the building.

We are greeted by a stout man with gray hair and a receding hairline, who looks to by my father's age. He shakes Edward's hand and claps him on the back. He turns to me and his hand and a wide grin, "You must be Isabella?"

I smile and nod, but before I can say anything he's turned back to Edward and is heading back behind his rather large mahogany desk. "Sit," he orders, pointing to the chairs in front of his desk. Edward and I comply and take our seats. Mr. Johnson opens a file and begins shifting papers around. "You will need to sign the Power of Attorney… but I see that Bella is already listed as the beneficiary in your will… we will just need to change her name." He turns and opens the file cabinet behind him and begins shuffling more papers around.

Then it dawns on me. I touch Edward's arm to get his attention. "I'm already listed as the beneficiary on your will?" I ask quietly. Edward nods. "When did that happen?" I ask, completely floored by the information.

He looks a bit worried and forces a smile, "Since I've had a will," he answers quietly.

"So, even if we weren't together… I'd still be in your will?"

Edward nods.

"But…" my thoughts trail off because I can't believe him. I can't believe that he did that. "Does your family know?" I ask and Edward nods again.

"I can't say that they were thrilled with me, but it really wasn't their decision to make," he shrugs.

"I can't believe you did that," I say under my breath.

Before Edward can respond Mr. Johnson turns back to us. "Here," he barks as he hands Edward some papers to sign. "Sign these. Isabella I need you to sign this paper which will allow us to change your name on any pre-existing document we may already have. We will also need a copy of your marriage certificate, driver's license and do you have your military ID yet?" I nod. "Ok, I will need to make a copy of that as well."

I quickly gather up my ID's and our marriage certificate and hand them over to the lawyer and he pages his secretary to come and make copies. Edward has signed his required paperwork and then hands it to me. "Signing this gives you Power of Attorney to make decisions on my behalf in the event that I'm incapacitated or…" he trails off at the end and I'm grateful he is because, frankly, I don't want to think about that.

"Ok," I whisper. I look over the document and it says exactly what he says it did. I sign it and then toss it on the table, wanting to get it as far away from me as I possibly can.

Edward laughs quietly at my dramatics and I look up at him. He's smiling at me and I smile back. "Are we done?" I ask him ready to get the hell out of this office and on with our life.

Edward gives me a crooked grin, "I'm not sure. Did you get your ID back yet?" I shake my head no. "Mr. Johnson," Edward glances back to the lawyer, "Do you have everything you need from us? We need to be on our way."

"Oh, yes, I forgot you have time constraints today," he answers quickly and then looks over our signatures. "It appears so… you should be able to pick up your ID and marriage certificate from my secretary. Oh, and if there is anything else I need I will be sure to call you."

We all stand and shake hands with Mr. Johnson and he offers us his congratulations. He leads us out to his secretary's desk and then quickly finds our documents and hands them to me. "Mrs. Cullen, if you need anything or have _any _questions please feel free to call me."

"Thank you," I answer politely and place the paperwork into my purse.

Edward and Mr. Johnson shake hands say a few more words and then Edward takes my hand and practically pulls me out of the office and out to his Volvo. Edward spins me around to face him and then gently places his hands on either side of my face. "I love you," he whispers and then lightly places his lips on mine. I wrap my arms around his waist and pull my body flush to his. He pulls his lips away from mine and looks down at me, his eyes twinkling in the sunlight, "let's get out of here."

I reach up and give him a quick peck on the lips, "I love you," I tell him back. He reaches behind me and opens the car door and helps me inside.

Edward is humming along with the radio and I can tell, by the direction he is driving, that we are headed back towards the house. "Where are we meeting everyone?" I ask out of curiosity.

Edward grins widely and then reaches over to hold my hand, "Alice wants us to meet at the house for some pictures and then after that we are all going to dinner."

"Oh, ok," I sigh, "I guess that will be fun."

"You guess?" Edward laughs. He looks over at me and waggles his eyebrows at me, "Is there something else you'd rather be doing?"

I laugh at his teasing. "I just can't wait to go home and it just be the two of us. That's all I want."

"You mean to tell me that _you_ are tired of being fussed over _already_?" he continues teasing me.

I giggle in my seat. "You know what? I really didn't mind all of the fussing today. It was nice that Alice had everything under control and I haven't had to worry about a single thing. I just can't wait to be _alone_ with my husband."

I squeeze his hand and then I decide to be a little more demonstrative. I take off my seat belt and turn my body towards his. Edward glances at me and then quirks an eyebrow up at me as if to ask, 'What are you doing?' I smile mischievously at him and bite down gently on my bottom lip, knowing how that has always affected him. I place my hand on his thigh and then lean against him so that my breasts are pressed against his arm and my lips are next to his ear. I lean in just a tad further and run the tip of my tongue up from his collar and across his ear lobe. He twitches away from me and I smile. I take a deep breath and exhale slowly across his lightly dampened skin and he shivers in his seat.

"Bella," he groans, which only spurs me on.

"Yeah, Baby?" I whisper into his ear as drag my hand up from his leg, across his tight stomach and chest, finally, wrapping my arm around his neck.

"If you don't stop," he growls as his hand comes under the hem of my dress and grips my thigh, "I'm going to be forced to drag you upstairs and have my way with you while our family waits downstairs for us."

I smile widely and then trace the shell of his ear with my tongue. "Oh no, Baby, we can't have that now can we?" I whisper. I kiss my way from his ear back down to the collar of his white button-down dress shirt. Edward squeezes my thigh and then his hand slides higher so that the edge of his hand is sitting flush against me. I instantly need to friction and shift my hips a bit, pressing down into his hand.

"Isabella," he hisses under his breath.

I laugh lightly in his ear and then run my hand down to his lap, where I find him hard and wanting. I squeeze him through his pants and an "ungh," escapes his lips. He flexes his hips, pressing himself harder into my hand.

I glance up at the road and see that we are almost home. "I love you, baby," I tell him and the kiss the hollow behind his ear. Then, as suddenly as I started teasing him, I stop and plop back down into my seat and straighten my dress. I enfold Edward's hand between the two of mine and place our hands neatly on my lap. I sneak a peek at Edward and see his mouth hanging open and his forehead creased with frustration. I look over at and smile innocently, "What's wrong, Baby?"

He glances over at me as he pulls into our garage and offers me his crooked grin, "You're evil," he grins.

"And you love me," I tease and reach over to open the door.

"Oh, no you don't," he growls and grabs hold of my arm, keeping me in my seat. I look up at him in time to feel his lips crash into mine. His free hand comes to the back of neck, cradling my head while keeping me where he wants me. I gasp when Edward roughly nips at my bottom lip. When my lips part, Edward drives his tongue into my mouth where he begins controlling my tongue however he sees fit. I groan into his open mouth while wrapping my arms tightly around his neck, pressing myself tighter to his hard body.

Suddenly, Edward's head snaps up and away from mine and I hear a whirring sound in the background. He glances to the other side of the care and then exhales emphatically.

"What is it?" I whisper.

"Someone just closed the garage door," he says quietly, his voice slightly rougher than normal.

"Oh, it was probably Alice," I smile and then tilt my head up enough to kiss his Adam's apple.

"Yeah, probably," he moans and then places a single sweet kiss on the side of my mouth. "We should probably go in, now," he mumbles, keeping his lips on my skin.

I lean back and look at Edward's handsome face, "If we must," I sigh.

Edward quickly opens the door, grabs his jacket from the back seat and then jogs his way over to my side of the car. He ceremoniously opens the car door with a flourish and then offers me his hand, "Mrs. Cullen," he grins.

I place my hand into his and allow him to help me out of the car. He pulls me to him and kisses me again, gently this time. He breaks the kiss and looks deeply into my eyes, "I love you," he whispers, his green eyes blazing with so much emotion.

"I love you, too," I tell him and hug him tightly, resting my head on his chest.

"Let's go," Edward whispers as he pulls away and takes my hand into his. As we make our way toward the door to the house Edward scoops me up into his arms making me yelp in surprise. Edward grins at me, "Did you really think I was going to let you _walk_ over the thresh-hold?"

"I suppose not," I laugh as Edward plops me down inside the doorway.

Edward leads me into the elevator and mashes the button sending us upstairs. "You ready for this?" he asks as he squeezes my hand.

"Yeah, I'm sure it won't be that bad." I smile up at him knowing that for the most part this will be torture. I've never been fond of people fawning over me and that's pretty much what this day has been about. I just keep telling myself, it's just one day and Alice has already made it so perfect.

When the elevator opens I see Alice pacing back and forth in the hall in front of the doors. She looks up at me and groans, "The least you could have done is taken better care of yourself." She steps inside the elevator and orders Edward out. "Let's go get you changed and clean you back up," she grumbles as she presses the up button.

"Is everything ok?" I ask.

"Oh, yeah," Alice's demeanor quickly lightens. "Everything is totally fine," she smiles at me.

"We have plenty of time and everything?" I ask cautiously wanting to make sure I'm not unintentionally stressing her out.

"Yep, Edward actually got you back in plenty of time. I didn't mean to worry you," she frowns and squeezes my hand. "I have another surprise for you," she whispers.

I look up at her and groan, "Alice, what more could you have possibly done? You've already done so much to make this day so amazing."

"You'll see," she giggles as we step out of the elevator and walk towards my bedroom. "Let's go in here," she squeaks as she leads the way into my closet. She stops abruptly next to another beautiful gown and spins around, grinning at me excitedly, "You'll have to tell me what you think… do you like it?"

"I…" I start, but can't find the words. The gown hanging beside Alice is absolutely beautiful. Unlike the dress I'm wearing its' strapless and heavily beaded on the bodice. A champagne satin ribbon sits around the middle, separating the top from the beaded layers of sheer A-line skirting. "Oh, Al, it's so beautiful," I whisper.

Alice hops just slightly on the balls of her feet, "Do you love it?"

"Yeah, it's perfect," I sigh. I step over to Alice and hug her tightly, "I'm never going to be able to thank you enough."

"I'm just glad that I could make this day perfect for you and Edward," she whispers, "You both deserve it… and so much more." She pulls back abruptly, "Alright, I know this is a bit backwards, putting on the more formal dress first, but since when have you guys done things the 'normal' way… let's get you changed."

She steps behind me and unzips the back of my dress. "You will have to take the corset off, but leave your panties on." Alice helps me step out of the ceremony dress and then hangs it up and places it on the same rack as my second dress. I take my corset off and toss it onto the dressing counter that sits in the middle of my closet, while Alice pulls the other dress off of the hanger and brings it to me. She sets it out in front of me arranging it so that all I have to do is step into the middle of the pool of fabric.

Alice helps me balance as I step in the middle of the delicate fabric and then it dawns on me, "What about my bra?"

Alice smiles as she begins pulling the dress up my body, "It has a bra built in to it."

"Oh, of course it does," I laugh, "As if I should have any doubt."

Before she can answer there's a knock at the door of the closet, "You decent in there?" Rose asks as she peeks inside.

"Of course she is," Alice grins. She's finished tucking me and zipping the dress.

And I'm stunned, "How did you do this without me ever trying this on?" I ask. The dress is perfect and it fits me like a glove. Like I've been to thousands of fittings and it fits just so.

Alice smirks, "I'm just that damn good."

"Oh hell," Rose groans, "You had to just go and make the Pixie's head that much bigger didn't you?"

We all laugh for a second and then Alice gets back to business, "Ok. Let's touch up your hair and make-up and then we can head to the beach for pictures. Did you bring Devin with you?"

"Yes, Alice," Rose sighs and rolls her eyes and then nods towards the door, "She's waiting in the bedroom. AND before you ask," she looks pointedly at Alice, "everything's ready to go in the bathroom."

"Great," Alice smiles and then ushers me towards the bathroom. She looks me over quickly and smiles, "I will do the hair, you do the make-up." Rose nods and starts shifting things on the counter around and then puts a collared dress shirt backwards over my shoulders. So, that the back of the shirt is protecting the front of my dress.

Rose and Alice begin chatting about various things when Devin walks into the bathroom. "You ok with a few candid shots?" she asks. Alice and I both say "sure" at the exact same time. It doesn't take long for Alice and Rose to get everything looking the way Alice wants it to.

Alice turns to Rose, "Go get her bouquet and her _husband_," she smiles.

Rose scoffs, but reluctantly obeys, heading out of the room to go and get Edward.

"Let's go out into the bedroom for some more pictures," Devin suggests.

Alice and I follow her out into the bedroom. "Why don't you to stand here," Devin guides us towards the French doors. "Just talk, try to be natural," Devin grins.

Alice smiles, "Ok… after we finish here, we head out to the beach and then we go to the restaurant."

"Restaurant? Which one?" I ask knowing she probably won't tell me anything.

Alice grins at me and then glance at the door. "Edward's here," she whispers and nods towards the door.

I look over and see Edward standing in our bedroom doorway, wearing his white shirt, navy pants and black tie, his mouth wide-open. I smile at his reaction and then, realizing he's gaping at me, his mouth snaps shut and he smiles crookedly at me. He quickly makes his way over to me and places a hand on my hip and the other comes up and gently cradles my face. "You are so beautiful," he sighs quietly and then leans forward and brings his forehead to mine. He pulls away and I look up into his sparkling green eyes that are so filled with emotion that he looks ready to cry. He dips his head a bit and gives my lips a gentle kiss, being careful not to mess up my make-up.

"Ok, you two," Alice pipes up, "we need to head down to the beach."

The next hour is filled with taking our pictures. We spend a little bit in the house. Devin had staged the courtyard and the fireplace in the Living Room for us to take a few shots. We took some with our parents on the patio out front. And the rest of the time was spent on the sand.

Alice helped me out of my shoes. And she was right, they _were_ really comfortable. Edward and Emmett helped me over the rocks that separate the beach from Ocean Dr. Devin and Alice had their heads together throwing around different ideas. And we, of course, were subjected to them all. There were some really posed shots, but we seemed to be taking a lot more candid shots, which I absolutely loved. There are a few poses that I really can't wait to see how they turn out: Edward holding me on the boulders with the sun setting behind us, the girls and I laughing together at the ocean's edge, my Dad and I talking as he holds my hand with my Mom and Jasper standing beside him, and definitely the one where Edward is holding me bridal style while standing with his pants rolled up and his feet in the cool shallows of the Pacific.

When the sun has finally set enough that it's too dark to take any more pictures outside, we make our way back over the boulders to find two limousines waiting for us in front of the house. Alice splits us up and tells each of us which limo to crawl into and then makes a mad dash back into house, with Jasper trailing behind her. She's only gone a minute or two, before she's climbing into our limo and we are pulling away.

I am sitting next to Edward, who has my hand between his, and Rosalie. Emmett is joking with Jasper about Alice having _everything_ under control. Alice joins in the joking and tells him he will appreciate it when it's his wedding day and Emmett immediately quiets. Rose looks at him and then at me with a strange expression. "What?" I ask her quietly. Rose just shakes her head and bites down lightly on her lip and then raises her left hand and sets it gently on my arm, showing me a simple diamond solitaire set in, what looks to be, platinum. It takes me a second… and then I get it… "He proposed?" I squeal. Everyone's heads snap up and look over to look at me. Rose nods and smiles. "When?" I am so excited for her that I can barely contain myself.

"While you guys were running your errands, he brought me out to the beach and begged me to marry him," she sighed and then looked over and up at Emmett.

He smiles sweetly down at her and then looks over to me, "Just so you guys know…" he pauses, "seeing how happy you two are today inspired me." He leans down and kisses her and then pulls away beaming.

The limo comes to a stop and Alice smiles, "We're here."

I am the last person to get out of the car and the suspense is killing me. Edward is waiting for me outside the car door, offering me his hand. "Mrs. Cullen," he teases with a smirk on his face.

I take his hand and step out. I pull myself close to him and smile, "Thank you, Mr. Cullen." He doesn't say thank you, he just kissing me gently and leads me away from the car.

As soon as I take my focus off of my gorgeous husband, I realize where we are. We are outside the doors of the Hotel del Coronado. As we make our way inside, two doormen hold the doors open for our family. Alice leads the way and takes us back and around to _1500 Ocean_. We follow her inside the restaurant and are met by an older gentleman. Alice talks to him for a moment and then we are led to a large private dining room that has a one very long table down the middle. The room itself is warm, neutral beige, creating the perfect canvas to work with any color palette. The table is set in gorgeous white linens with coordinating blue table runners breaking across the large expanse of white at every other place setting. Low sitting, light blue and green Hydrangea bouquets are place sporadically down the table, while any other unused space is filled with soft white candles and elegant stemware, making the entire table seem to shimmer in a soft, golden glow. In true, Alice fashion, there place cards telling everyone where to sit.

Edward and I are in the middle of one side with Alice, then Jasper, beside Edward. And Emmett and then Rose beside me. My Mom is directly across from Edward and my Dad is front of Alice, while Carlisle sits in front of me and Esme in front of Emmett. Next to Esme sits Masterchief Hagan and then Kate and Garrett. Across from Garrett sits Angela, with Ben sitting next to Rose. At the other end of the table, Victoria sits next to Jasper, with James next to her. Across from James sits Jessica, while Mike sits between him and Mrs. Cope.

It's all very beautiful and intimate. Everyone is able to talk to one another while we are being served drinks and appetizers. Before we begin enjoying our food, Emmett stands up to speak. He clears his throat and suddenly looks shy. "I've known Edward for a few years now. And I'm proud to call him my friend. But, there was a time when my friend was lost. See, his heart was somewhere else. But, now… now he's found his heart. And he's happy… found. When I met Bella a few months ago, she immediately became the little sister I never had. And I want to thank her for keeping my obnoxious ass in line and making my friend so happy. So, I would like to propose a toast… A toast to two of the best friends anyone could be lucky enough to have. I wish them a long marriage filled with family, friends and lots of happiness. To Edward and his Isabella," Emmett raises his glass and everyone repeats, "To Edward and his Isabella," as they all clink their glasses and sip their champagne.

I catch my Mother's eye and she's grinning mischievously as she picks up her knife and begins to lightly tap her champagne flute. Within seconds our private room is filled with the tings of each of our family's glasses. Edward and I look around, slightly surprised, when Rose finally clues us in, "Kiss her," she laughs. Edward smiles and then reaches over and places his warm hand on the back of my neck and pulls me towards him. I steady myself against him with one hand high on his thigh and the other in front of me on the edge of the table. He places a gentle kiss on my lips, appeasing our audience. Everyone claps and smiles, I blush.

Edward keeps me close, kissing my cheek and then keeping his lips next to my ear, "I can't wait to get you home," he growls, loud enough for only me to hear.

I feel my face heat exponentially and manage to whisper, "Me, too," back to him. We both slowly retreat back to our places, but Edward's gaze stops me. He's staring at me with such and intensely hot look in his eyes that it shoots straight to my core and I gasp. I look up at him through my eyelashes and feel a small smile creeps across my lips.

Before I can say anything I hear someone loudly clear their throat. Edward's demeanor softens and he looks across the table. I look up and see the four of our parents smiling widely at us. My Dad chuckles out loud, "Hey, there you two," he teases. Edward and I can't help but laugh with him.

Alice stands up and begins, "Well, now that we have their attention back, it's my turn to offer a toast." She smiles over at us and then sets her hand on Edward's shoulder, seeming to lean into him for support, "Most of us, here in this room, have been with these two through it all. I have seen them at the lowest and I have soared with them at their highest. With all they have been through and all that they have learned, they are stronger now, together, than they have ever been." Edward takes my hand in his and squeezes it gently. "And as they start out on their newest adventure, I feel blessed to be a part of _their_ lives once again and will do whatever is within my power to unconditionally support them." Alice turns towards us and raises her glass, "To my brother, Edward, and my best friend, Bella, I wish you a lifetime of love, filled with joy and happiness."

Everyone raises their glasses and before we have a chance to take a sip ourselves, someone begins to clang their glass. Edward of course, grins widely kisses me again. Its' sweet and perfect and he leaves me breathless.

I take a glance around the table and look around at our family and friends. As much as this day wasn't how I had planned, it's still the most precious day of my life. And I know without a doubt, that I have never been happier.

* * *

**a/n: so... what do you think? I know... no lemon... but I needed a little transition. **

**I have been struggling to get this story finished... I have a strong outline that I am sticking to, but the words just haven't been coming. So, in the meantime I have been developing a few other stories. One of which I have published called _You Could Be Happy_... it's based on a song of the same name by Snow Patrol. It's a bit angsty and emo... and my first EPOV. Check it out and let me know what you think. **

**There are two chapters and maybe an epilogue left for MoH and I am going to try like hell to update weekly... I am very sorry for the delays, but there's not a whole lot I can do about it... I have four boys that I'm raising (five if you count my husband) and some days the words just don't come. But, I promise that I will see this story out to the end :) Oh, yeah... I will be updating the pics on my blog for MoH this week, too... so if you want to see the pics that I try to ineptly at times to describe come check it out... the link is on my profile :)**

**All right, now it's your turn... hit that little button and let me know what you think... because I really do want to know and each review helps motivate me, really it does :)**


	20. Chapter 19

**I do not own Twilight... but, oh how I love it so...**

**a/n: sorry it's a little late... longer a/n at the bottom... happy reading!**

* * *

The Reception that Alice made happen on such short notice was absolutely amazing. Not only did she manage to book us a private dining room at one of the best restaurants in the city, but she also was able to convince the hotel to allow us to use the _Sunset Bar_ that sits just outside of _1500 Ocean_.

The chairs and tables that are normally placed around the bar have all been moved to one side allowing us to have a make shift dance floor. There are a few fire pits strategically placed around the chairs to keep everyone comfortable on this incredibly mild San Diego night. Alice also hired a small jazz ensemble that seemed to be able to play everything we had requested. That backed with the continuous thrum of the Pacific Ocean had me feeling very, very relaxed and happy.

And I am positive that I no matter how amazing her baby shower is, I will not _ever_ be able to show her how grateful I am to her for this beautiful day.

I'm dancing and laughing with Kate, Angela, Victoria and Rose, when I feel Edward's gaze fall upon my back, igniting sparks on my skin. I glance behind me and sure enough he's there smiling at me while talking to Emmett. I turn back to the girls and keep dancing. Before I can turn around again his strong hands wrap around my waist as he pulls me back into his firm chest. I grin at my friends who are already beginning to turn away from us and towards each other, giving us a private moment. I feel his warm breath wash down my neck and across my bare shoulder making me shiver slightly. His lips come to my ear and I feel him place the softest, lightest kiss right under my ear.

"Are you ready to go home, Mrs. Cullen?" Edward whispers.

I turn in his arms and nod, "Take me home Mr. Cullen." I think he's going to pull me away from the small dance floor, but instead he begins to sway us easily to the soft music. I lean my cheek against his chest and hear his strong heart beating in its' slow steady rhythm. I close my eyes and smile enjoying this moment of pure, quiet bliss.

After the song ends, Edward takes my hand, raises it to his lips and kisses my palm. His eyes come to mine and he smiles crookedly at me, "Let's go say goodbye," he nods over towards our friends and I bite down lightly on my bottom lip and nod in agreement. Our friends are gathered around the bar and we make quick work hugging, shaking their hands and saying our goodbyes.

"Where's Alice?" I ask Rosalie as I give her a hug.

"She's waiting for you inside," she smiles.

"Waiting for me? Why is she waiting for me? Please tell me that she has nothing else up her sleeve. Pleeeeease?" I whine at Rose, making her, Emmett and Edward laugh.

"I don't' think it's like that," Rose laughs, "I think she just wants to be able to say goodbye on her own."

"Oh," I sigh and then I finally get it and let out an, "OHHHHHHHH!"

Edward shakes his head and begins to pull me away, "Come on you," he teases. I follow willingly while waving goodbye to Rose.

When we make it inside the private dining room, we find our parents along with Jasper and Alice standing together near the cake table talking quietly. We join them and are greeted with bright smiles and a hug from my Mom.

"I'm so happy for you, sweetie," she practically squeals as she wraps her arm around my waist.

I notice Carlisle step over to the table and return grinning, with a bottle of champagne tucked under his arm and several champagne flutes in his hands. "I think this occasion is worth toasting, again," he winks.

"I couldn't agree with you more," my Dad leans over and helps Carlisle with the glasses. Jasper takes a few more and passes them around.

"Oh! Ginger Ale… is there any more?" My Mom blurts and quickly scans the room. I give her a questioning glance and she answers, "For Alice, silly."

I can't help but think 'duh', but instead I shake my head. I look over at my best friend, who's officially my sister now. I smile at her, "Al, I think it's going to take me a little bit to get used to that."

"Yeah, I hear you. And probably by the time you get used to it the baby will be born," she teases me back.

Edward hands me my glass of champagne and once Alice has her glass of Ginger Ale, Carlisle speaks up, "Well, I think we have been a family for quite a while now," he begins, making us all smile. "But, today, I feel, we finally filled the obvious gap that we have felt for a little while now." Carlisle pauses and winks at me. "As if there has ever been any doubt… we love you Isabella Marie _Cullen_, and I'm proud to call you my daughter." Carlisle raises his glass and we all follow suit and then take a drink.

Esme leans towards her husband and wraps her free arm around Carlisle's waist. He in turn pulls her close and then leans in and kisses her square on the lips, catching her completely by surprise. When Carlisle finally releases her, her face is bright red, her eyes are wide and she drinks all of her remaining champagne in one gulp.

I can't help but giggle at Carlisle's lovey-dovey behavior. Esme holds her glass out and raises her eyebrow at Jasper demanding more champagne. Naturally, he obliges and fills her glass almost to the rim.

Out of nowhere my Dad reaches over and slaps Edward on the back. "Son, there's not a lot left to say. I've told you not to hurt her, and I think you've tried your damnedest not to. I've told you to take care of her, and I think you've done your damnedest to do everything in your power to take the very best care of her. I think the only thing left to say to _both_ of you is…" he pauses dramatically and looks back and forth between Edward and I and then continues, "…never give up. It's going to be hard. It's not always going to be sunshine and rainbows. And I think you two know that, now. But, don't ever give up on each other and this love you have fought to keep. Even when it's good, it's work. Next to raising your kids, it can be the most rewarding and the most frustrating thing you'll ever do." He laughs quietly to himself when he finishes while the rest of us look on a bit astonished. My Dad is a man of few words and for him to say _so_ much says quite a bit to importance of this occasion in his eyes.

"Charlie," my Mom sighs, "You've had too much to drink." She shakes her head and relieves him of his champagne. She quickly turns her attention to me and Edward, "Kids, we love you both and are so happy that you have _finally_ gotten your shit together. Take care of one another. Love one another and don't ever, _ever_ give up on each other." My Mom raises her glass and we all do the same, "To Edward and Bella," and then we all drink.

Edward kisses the side of my head, "You ready to go?" he whispers.

I look up at him and laugh lightly, "Yeah, our parents are getting drunk and I just don't think I can stomach it if they all start making out."

"I know, right," Edward chuckles. "How's my wife feeling?" he asks as he squeezes my side and pulls me close to him.

"Your wife's good," I smile up at him and then lean into him, enjoying the sensation of his warm body against mine.

"No," he whispers into my hair, "My wife is absolutely amazing." I tilt my face up so I can see his and find him smiling sweetly down at me. He lightly licks his lips and then leans down and kisses me. His lips are warm and I can't help but lean in further and press as much of myself against him as I possibly can.

Before I can press the kiss further, Alice's twinkling voice interrupts us, "Ok, you two love birds." Edward and I slowly pull away from one another. I blush because I know we've just been practically making out in front of our parents and when I notice that Edward's breathing has changed I blush even more.

I step back into his side and try to hide my embarrassment by hiding my face in his chest. I'm sure it doesn't work when I hear small laughs and giggles around us. To my surprise it's Jasper that speaks up, "Why don't you two get the hell out of here? We can all catch up tomorrow."

I look over to see my brother standing next to Alice with his arm draped over her petite shoulder. "Okay," I smile. "Why don't we get together for a late lunch? Say around one-thirty?"

Both Alice and Esme's faces light up, but Esme speaks up first, "We will bring the food, you guys just be decent when we get there," she laughs at the end of her statement. Of course, there are nods and grumbles in agreement.

"Alright, then, we will see you guys tomorrow afternoon," Edward tells everyone and then steps forward to hug his Mom. We hug our parents and our siblings and then we finally make our way out of the restaurant only to find a blank Lincoln Towncar waiting for us at the front door.

"Alice," I sigh under my breath.

"Yeah, she thinks of everything," he stomps his foot acting slightly put out as he helps me into the plush back seat of the sedan. I lean into him as he wraps me up in his arms, hugging me against him. "So, Mrs. Cullen…" he kisses my shoulder gently, "… did your wedding day live up to all your expectations?"

I want to answer, but I'm finding it hard to concentrate. Between all of the champagne and now the dizzying sensation of Edward placing sweet, tender kisses along my shoulder, I don't want to talk. I just want to enjoy every little sensation he is making me feel.

"Bella?" he whispers between kisses.

"Hmmm?" I manage to hum in response.

"Love, did you enjoy your day?" he asks me again, punctuating his question with a firm bite at the union of my neck and shoulder.

"Yes," I gasp, pretty sure I'm saying yes to what he's beginning to do with his mouth and not the question he posed the moment before.

He effortlessly pulls me so that I am sitting across his lap. When my eyes meet his, I feel my entire body begin to burn for him. "Isabella, did you enjoy your day?" he asks for a third time. His tongue peeks out and he quickly licks wets his bottom lip.

My eyes shift from his mesmerizing green eyes, to his moist deep pink lips and I nod. And then I can't help but squeeze my legs together, hoping to feel some friction.

He feels me shift on his lap and smirks at me. "I guess we can talk about our wedding later," his voice is a bit huskier than it was a moment ago and I quickly feel my temperature continue to rise. I nod in agreement as his mouth crashes down, devouring mine. I wrap my arms around his neck and try to kiss him with as much fervor as he's kissing me.

Out of nowhere his head snaps up and away from mine and I open my eyes to see him glancing around the car. He looks back at me and gives me a quick peck on the lips. "We're home," he grins. I slide off his lap and try to straighten my dress. Once I'm done fidgeting Edward taps on the window beside him, signaling the driver that we are ready to get out. The door opens and Edward quickly jumps out of the car and then spins around and reaches for my hand, helping me step out of the car. Edward is right behind me and he shakes the drivers hand as he offers us his congratulations. But, I'm already walking up the stairs of our front walk. I'm ready to get out of my beautiful dress and on top of my beautiful husband. _Husband_… Edward is my husband… I can't help but smile brightly at the thought.

He's legally mine and I'm his.

Before I can get to the door Edward has caught up to me and is fishing his keys out of his pants pocket. He glances over at me as he begins to unlock the door and tells me, "Stay put." I cock my head to the side wondering what in the hell he's talking about when he throws the door open and then turns back to me flashing his most impish grin.

_Oh hell_… my pulse quickens with that little smile because I know that he has something in store for me that I know I will thoroughly enjoy.

He quickly fills the small gap between us and scoops me up and, once again, carries me over the threshold. "Again?" I sigh, feigning annoyance.

"Different threshold, same day, Wife," he says in mock seriousness.

I smile up at him as he kicks the door closed behind us and then reaches back and throws the deadbolt, locking the door. I reach up and gently rub my hands over his five o'clock shadow, reveling in the prickly texture, knowing exactly how that will feel when his face is between my legs.

Pulling his face closer to mine, I lean up and kiss his lips, nipping at his bottom as I pull away. As Edward carries me though the dark house, I begin to tease him further, nipping harder and licking at his lips. When we make it to the elevator, Edward sets me down and leans me back against the wall so that he can attack my neck and shoulders while his hands try in vain to push the bodice of my dress down my body. "Fuck," he grumbles when the elevator door opens and I fall blindly backwards.

Edward grabs me before I fall to the ground, "Good thing you have great reflexes," I tell him as he holds me close to him.

Edward doesn't say a word. Instead, he pushes me against the wall next to the control panel and begins kissing me again. At some point, he scoops me up and carries me out of the elevator and into our bedroom. He sets me down on the floor at the foot of our bed and kisses the tip of my nose. "Let's get you out of this dress," he urges as his hands come to rest of my hips.

"Ok," I nod and turn around so he can unzip me.

As he pulls the zipper down to the base of my spine I hear him gasp. "How is it that you're not wearing anything under here?" he groans and slides his warm hands inside the back of gown and slowly eases his hands around my sides and eventually to the sensitive skin on my stomach. I try to squirm away from his tickling hands and my chest is abruptly hit with cooler air as the bodice of my dress falls away. Edward's hands ease up to cup my breasts and I groan aloud as he begins to squeeze my nipples between his fingers.

As I try to turn to face him my dress seems to keep me from moving. "Shit," I mumble.

"What is it?" Edward whispers and then takes my earlobe between his teeth, giving it a nibble.

"I need to go hang up this dress," I moan not really wanting to leave him. "Alice is going to kill me if I leave it in a heap on the floor."

Edward lets go of me and takes a step back. "Well, we can't have _Alice_ getting angry now can we," he says in a teasing voice.

I pull the dress back up and dash over to my closet. I flip on the light and quickly step out of the dress and hang it on the clothes hanger Alice has brought with her. When I hang it up next to my first dress, I see my corset hanging next to the royal blue satin set that I had picked out earlier to wear for Edward tonight. I take off my stockings and panties, tossing them to the side, and slide on the satiny royal blue baby doll. There are smaller ruffles that fallow the hem-line across my breasts and then a larger ruffle along the bottom hem that go all the way around and up the back. The panties are absolutely adorable. They are a simple blue bikini made of the same royal blue satin with ruffles all across the butt.

I check my reflection in the mirror and smile, knowing Edward will love it. I immediately start taking the hair pins that have been holding my hair in place all day out of my hair. I run my fingers through my hair and groan as my hair begins to ache from being held in the same position all day. When I look back in the mirror I like what I see. My hair is tousled and a bit wild and I'm pretty sure Edward is going to love it.

When I make my way back to the bedroom I stop dead in my tracks. My bedroom is no longer dark, but quite the opposite. While I was changing Edward had taken the time to light candles all around the room, filling the room with a soft, warm glow.

I see Edward sitting up in the bed in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs and if I'm not mistaken he's literally gawking at me. His eyes are wide open, with his jaw hanging slack. I smile and slowly walk over towards him. When I get to his side of the bed he throws his knees off the side of the bed and reaches out to take my hand. "You are so beautiful," he tells me quietly as he pulls me towards him.

I stand with my knees against the bed and boldly look him over. His bronze hair is cut so short that you can barely see the color. I reach up and run my hand through his fine, closely cropped, silky locks. His green eyes are almost glowing in the candle light and I can't help but shiver at their intensity. I run the pad of my thumb under his eye and then down to his sharp angular jaw. I pause for a moment at the small dimple in his chin, but then run my thumb over his plump, kissable pink lips. I bite down on my own lip, fighting the urge to give in and kiss him. Instead, I bring my hands up to either side of his neck, feeling his taught muscles under my hands. I run my fingertips across down to his collar bone and then out towards his well-formed shoulders, making him shiver slightly. I smile at his reaction, which only encourages me to continue. I gently rake my fingernails down his defined arms all the way to the palms of his hands. I entwine my fingers in his and squeeze roughly. After a moment, I let his hands go and then trace my path back up his arms and across to his perfectly chiseled chest. I take my time appreciating his sensitive nipples. Brushing them lightly the first pass and then pinching them roughly on the second, making Edward hiss and jerk his hips up off the bed. When my eyes make their way to his defined abs I can't help but notice his very hard erection straining against the cotton of his black boxer-briefs. I'm dying to taste him, to have him in my mouth, but I know I should save that thought… at least for a minute or two. Instead, I trace the lines of his stomach down and out to the V that brings me all the way down to his beautiful cock. He shifts his hips slightly trying to get me to touch him, but I haven't gotten this far just to cave now. I kneel down between his knees and smile up at him. I do the opposite of what he hoped. My hands go back up and around to the outside of his legs. I massage his well-muscled thighs and then tickle the backs of his knees. He shifts uncomfortably and I smile up at him again. I gently massage his strong calves and then continue to trace my way down to his ankles, across the tops of his bare feet and then up his shins. When I make it to his knees he lurches on the bed and I have to stifle a giggle. "Relax, baby," I coo and he just shakes his head at me.

I shift my hands so that they are on the insides of his knees and then I gently ease my hands up the insides of his firm thighs. He hisses again when my fingers find their way under the soft material of his cotton boxers, scraping his sensitive flesh with my fingernails. I move slowly up his legs until I feel the place where his legs meet his body and then I feel the subtle change in texture and temperature when I reach his balls. I linger there and look up at Edward. He's leaning back on his elbows with his head lolled back so all I can see is his chin jutting up towards the ceiling. I give him a little tug and watch his Adam's apple bob in reaction. I push my hands up further wrapping my hands around his ridiculously hard cock. A thought occurs to me that to properly worship my husbands' beautiful cock, I need to see it. So, I delicately pull my hands out of his underwear and stand. Edward's head snaps up abruptly and his eyes quickly find mine. "Lift up," I command as I place my hands on the band of his boxers. He complies and lifts his hips and I peel them off of him. His erection immediately springs free and slaps him in the stomach with a quiet smack. I glance up at the head of the bed and nod, "Can you hand me a pillow please?"

Edward nods and hands me a pillow and I place it down on the floor between his feet. I kneel down taking back my spot between his knees. He's sitting up now, looking down at me, the corner of his mouth quirked up a bit in a grin. I take his cock back into my hands, placing one hand on top of the other. I'm always amazed when I realize it would take another of my hands to completely cover him. I stroke him up and over his head and then down… up again and then down… I must be biting my lip because Edward's hand comes to my lip and tenderly pulls it from my teeth. I lean in and lick him from base to tip with the flat of my tongue. He groans quietly and then tucks a stray lock of hair behind my ear. His tenderness spurs me on and I take his engorged head into my mouth and begin working him with both my mouth and hands, occasionally throwing in some tongue around the ridge and underside of the head of his cock. Edward groans my name loudly and his hands are twisted in my hair as he begins thrusting in and out of my mouth. He hits the back of my throat and then pulls me down further so that I have to take him deeper into my throat. I try to relax the muscles in my throat and breathe through my nose, giving myself time to adjust. He pulls away and then pushes back, holding me in place when he's in the deepest. I try to swallow around him and he groans loudly. "I'm… gonna… cum," he pants and I feel his cock begin to spasm as I take him all the way to the back of my throat and swallow every bit of him down. I take a moment and gently lick him clean and then rise up off my knees.

I look up at Edward who has thrown himself back onto the bed with his arms raised up over his head, looking as if he's ready to surrender. He suddenly opens his eyes and a lazy smile draws across his handsome face. "Come here," he asks in a hoarse voice and holds out his hand to me. I take it and crawl my way up on the bed and lay on my side at look over at him. He shifts onto his side so he's facing me. "Damn, woman, that was fucking amazing," he drawls out sounding sleepy. I smile widely and he leans in and kisses me.

The kiss starts slowly. He gently explores and caresses my tongue while his hands run up and down my arms. And before I know it the straps of my baby doll are down my arms and Edward has rolled in between my legs and is greedily devouring my breasts. He is pushing them together roughly with both of his hands while he sucks and bites on both nipples at the same time. It's slightly painful, but extremely delicious. I can't help but push my hips against his body, looking for any kind of friction I can find, but I find none. He releases one of my breasts and goes straight down to my soaking wet, satin covered pussy. "Fuck, Bella," Edward gasps, "your so fucking wet." He sits up on his knees and pulls my panties down my legs. "As much as I want to fuck you, I need to do something first," he growls and the literally dives head first into my pussy. He licks and sucks my clit and then begins pushing it mercilessly around in circles with his tongue. I'm already so turned on that I know this is not going to take long at all. Edward seeming to sense this slips two of his fingers into my already pulsating pussy and easily pushes me over the edge. I writhe against his face and hands and scream like my life depends on it.

He kisses his way back up my body, giving me a moment to relax. But, all the while he's still fingering me gently. When his mouth finally makes it to mine he kisses me eagerly and I groan when I taste myself on his lips and tongue. "Bella?" he whispers and I open my eyes to look up at him. "I love you," he groans as he pushes his cock slowly into me.

"I love you," I groan as he makes his way, balls deep inside of me. He sets a slow steady rhythm and I move against him and then with him. There are times when I want Edward hard and fast and I want nothing more than to have him leave his mark on me. But, tonight, this slow and easy love making is perfect.

Edward kisses me briefly and then leans back onto his heels. He grabs my hips and lifts me so that I am up off the bed and I groan at the exquisite change of angle. I place my fists under my butt, hoping to maintain this lovely feeling that Edward has created. He pulls out slowly and the all the way back in and with each pass the feeling grows exponentially. Edward's hand comes down between us and begins to stroke my clit sending shocks through my core and sending me screaming over the edge, while dragging Edward along with me.

Edward collapses on top of me and pulls a blanket up and over us. We fall asleep in a sweaty pile of exhausted limbs. I sleep soundly and when I wake in the morning it's to the sound of Edward talking to someone on the phone.

I roll over and see that it's only eight in the morning and groan. There are very few people that would call this early and our family wouldn't call today, unless it was an emergency.

Edward comes back into the room and sits on the edge of the bed. "Bella?" he asks quietly, his voice sounding a bit off and I know something is up.

I roll towards him and offer, "Good morning, Baby. What's going on?" I smile gently, silently bracing myself for bad news.

He feigns a smile and moves my hair off of my face. "I have to go into work for a bit, but I should be back for lunch with the family."

"Is it time?" I ask quietly.

Edward nods.

I sit up on the bed and wrap my arms around him. He holds me tightly to his chest and kisses my neck. "We knew this was coming," I tell him quietly. "Go do what you need to and get your ass back here, ok?"

Edward laughs quietly, "Alright, I will be back as soon as I can." He kisses me gently and eases away. I wait till I'm sure he's downstairs and cry quietly into my pillow.

Edward is back within the hour with more bad news. "I have to be back on base in two hours. We ship out tonight," he reluctantly tells me.

We debate back and forth about calling our parents over early, but we both agree that we need to be with each other for the little bit of time we have left.

We spend the next hour teasing one another while talking about our wedding day and packing some special things in Edward's duffel. I look at him in his blue BDU and smile. "What?" he asks.

"I want that shirt," I demand.

"Ok," he smiles and takes off his shirt, handing it to me. I hold it to my nose and deeply inhale his scent. He grabs another from his closet and is buttoning it up when he comes back to the bed. "Look what I found," he teases.

I look up to see him holding my blue panties from last night up in the air. "What are you going to do with those?" I smirk at him.

"You have my stinky BDU. I'm taking these," he grins and shoves them into his duffle bag. I can't help but laugh.

He looks down at his watch and scrubs his face with his hands. "I have to get going," he says somberly. "Do you want to drive me on base so that you can bring the Volvo back?"

I shake my head no. "Can I work it out later with Jasper or something?" The idea of going there physically hurts my heart.

"Sure," Edward says and pulls me up and into a hug. "Bella, I don't know how long we are going to be gone. Something went wrong… really wrong and we have to go clean up the mess. I'm not sure when I will be able to talk next, but I promise that as soon as I can I will get in touch with you. I will write when I can and you can write to my APO, but I don't know…."

With every word he says it's hitting me. This is real. He could walk out that door and never come back. My throat is clenching and tears are burning my eyes, threatening to pour down my face. "I will write you," I whisper, "I promise." The tears fall down my cheeks and I squeeze him harder.

"I don't want to let you go," he whispers into my hair.

"I don't want you to let go," I whisper into his chest.

We hold each other for a moment, saying nothing, just listening to one another's hearts beatings and each other's deep breaths. We both are fighting tears and fighting to stay in control of our emotions.

"Walk me downstairs," Edward demands.

I nod, not feeling like I can trust my voice. He holds my hand as we slowly walk to the garage. We walk over to his stupid, shiny silver Volvo and he puts his bag into the trunk of the car.

He pulls me into another hug and then looks down at me. "I will be back as soon as I can," he says trying to reassure me.

"I know," I tell him, "just be smart and get your ass back here, ok?" I try to smile.

Edward laughs and leans down to kiss me. I kiss him back and then hug him again. "I love you, Wife," he teases.

"I love you, Husband," I tease back.

He kisses me again, harder this time, and then abruptly pulls away and gets into his car. He opens the garage door and begins to back his car out the drive. At the last minute, he stops and waves. I wave back and blow him a kiss. I stand there until I can no longer hear his car and then I shut the garage door and head upstairs.

Before I can make it up to my bedroom the phone rings.

"Bella?" Rosalie's strained voice is on the line.

"Hi, Rose," I answer quietly.

"Can I come over," she asks.

"Please," I plead.

"Be there in a sec," she says and then hangs up. I put the phone back on the hook and then run upstairs to change clothes. As much as I hate the idea of Edward being gone and in harms' way, I am relieved I am not going to have to go through this alone. And maybe I will be able to help Rose get through all of this shit as well.

* * *

**a/n: We knew it was coming so there it is... he's gone... at least you got a decent lemon out of it, right? **

**Now, even more bad news... I will not be updating MoH until after my kids go back to schook January 5th... so, in reality don't expect it until January 10th or so...**

**I'm sorry, but when my kids are home r/l is guaranteed to get in the way... I'm going to try to write as much as I can, but I can't promise anything.**

**.**

**One another note... thank you to all of you who continue to stick with this story... Thank you for reading, reviewing and putting me on your alerts and favorites... I truly appreciate each of you. **

**Happy Holidays everyone... I hope you each have a great Holiday... whichever one you may celebrate...**

**I have made a new friend this week who is making me realize just how much I have to be thankful for... I think you know who you are :0)**


	21. Chapter 20

**I do not own Twilight... and we all know who does and we thank her for allowing us to play with her toys ;)**

**I want to thank everyone for sticking with me with this story. I appreciate every reader and every single review... **

**I should warn you... there is a bumpy ride ahead... and if your not ready to kill me by the time you are done reading there will be a longer a/n at the end...**

**Here ya go...**

* * *

I throw on a pair of yoga pants, a tank, and Edwards black hoodie and head back downstairs. I start a fresh pot of coffee and then decide to text Alice: _**Pixie… come over early… Rose and I need you.**_

Alice responds almost immediately: _**ok… be there in a bit… is everything ok?**_

I sigh: _**no… not really.**_

She doesn't reply. But, then my doorbell rings and I head to the front of the house. I open the door expecting to find an upset Rosalie, but instead finding Tanya Yorkie standing in front of me nervously wringing her hands.

I'm momentarily speechless. I can't help but ask myself, '_What are the fucking odds_?' "Can I help you, Tanya?" I try the best I can to ask civilly.

"I heard that Edward will be leaving today," she says so quietly that I nearly didn't hear her.

"Umm, yeah… and?" I ask abrasively wanting her to get the hell away from me.

"Is he here?" she asks, her voice sounding very, _very_ strange.

"No, he's not." I snap. "Is there something I can help you with?"

She shakes her head violently, "No… I'm sorry, Bella… I shouldn't be here."

She turns to walk away and suddenly I can't help myself. "Tanya," I yell after her, "You need to know that Edward and I are married now."

She abruptly stops dead in her tracks and spins around to face me. Her face is twisted into what looks like a painful grimace. "What? When?" she gasps.

"We were married yesterday," I tell her, not able to keep a smile from my face. I know it's not nice and I'm messing with someone who may or may not be crazy. But, there's this part of me that wants to feel something other than the agony of Edward leaving and being put in harms' way. Who knows? Maybe she'll attack me and I will be able to work through some of my frustration.

Her tortured expression softens as her shoulders slump forward and she looks defeated. "So, that's it then?" she says quietly. And before I can say anything she turns and runs to her car.

"What the fuck?" I mutter and turn back inside, being sure to lock the door behind me. I grab the phone and call Kate and let her know that her sister once again, made her way to my doorstep showering me with some of her special brand of crazy. As I'm getting off the phone with Kate the doorbell rings and I pray to God that it's Rose.

When I make my way to the door, I am relieved to see Rosalie's blonde profile through the windows of the front door. I swing the door open, grumbling, "God, I'm happy to see you." I look up at her and for the first time in our entire friendship Rosalie Hale is a mess. Her hair is thrown up in a sloppy pony-tail, her eyes are blood-shot and swollen, and she's wearing absolutely no make-up and a pair of tights and what looks to be one of Emmett's over-sized sweatshirts.

"Oh, Rose," I sigh and pull her into a hug. She immediately starts sobbing on my shoulder and I begin to rub her back, "They are going to be alright, honey," I tell her sweetly. "Come on," I tell her and take her hand, leading her towards the family room. She silently follows and then goes and plops down on the couch. "Do you want coffee? Water? Tea?"

"Some coffee would be good," she answers quietly.

I pour us each a cup, adding tons of sugar and milk to mine, while leaving hers black. When I make my way to stand in front of Rose tears are rolling down her cheeks. I set the coffee down on the coffee table and sit down beside Rose on the couch. I pull her into my arms and hug her tightly. "It's going to be ok," I tell her softly.

"Are you sure?" she asks between soft sobs.

"No," I tell her honestly, "but it has to be." I find myself fighting back my own tears.

"I knew it was going to be hard when he left. But, I never thought I would be this scared." Rose sits up and wipes the tears away from her face. "It gets easier, right?" she asks, completely serious.

"Yeah," I whisper and then take her hand, "you get used to their training and when they deploy. But, when they have to leave unexpectedly and you know it has the possibility to be dangerous, it's never easy. But, we have each other… and we can get through it together."

"Emmett said he wasn't sure when we would be able to talk to one another next," her voice trailing off at the end of her sentence.

"Normally, they can call, occasionally e-mail and more often write. Sometimes they can Skype, but our guys aren't always in the best places to communicate. But, Edward did say that it was going to be harder this time, too."

Rose looks up at me and cocks her head to the side, "Will they be able to tell us where they go and what they did?"

"It depends on how it all turns out. It's all in whether it gets declassified or not. Hopefully, there won't be a whole lot to tell. They will go, do their job, and get their asses home in one piece."

"I just want them home," Rose whimpers and then breaks completely down. She leans towards me and hugs me tightly.

"I know," I whisper, "I do, too." I hug her back, knowing that it's going to get worse before it gets better for her. I know that I will do my best to support her and help her get through this, hopefully with her love for Emmett still intact.

Rose's breathing has calmed and evened into a slow rhythmic pattern and I can tell that she has fallen asleep. I hear the door open to the downstairs and her Alice make her way down the hall. I glance up and see her standing at the back of the couch that separates the Kitchen and the Family Room. She's uncharacteristically dressed in a plain white t-shirt and a baggy pair of blue jeans. Her face is solemn and her eyes are red, looking as if she's been crying the whole way here.

She moves the rest of the way around the couch and climbs up on the couch and positions herself right up against the other side of Rose. Alice looks up at me and mouths, "Are you ok?"

I nod a yes and then shake my head slightly telling her no, because it's the truth. Rationally, I am ok. I know Edward is the best at what he does and he will do whatever it takes to make his way home to me, to us. But, the emotional side of me is absolutely scared to death that he will not make it back. That something terrible is going to happen and I'm going to lose my husband, the love of my life, for some unknown reason.

I know this is his choice and because I choose to be married to him it's my choice, too. But, oh my God, it fucking breaks my heart and batters my brain. I literally shake my head trying to shake off this awful, dreadful feeling that is beginning to weigh me down.

Rose wakes and looks up at Alice and whispers, "Hi."

"Hey," Alice smiles and then offers, "I sent Jazzy to get us some breakfast… just some bagels and stuff." Alice sits up and looks back and forth between Rosalie and myself, "Are you two ok?"

Rose and I both nod.

"What time is it?" I ask.

Alice checks her watch, "it's a little after Noon. What time are they supposed to leave?"

"All Edward told me is that they are shipping out tonight. He didn't really give me a time," I tell her.

"Yeah," Rose adds, "Emmett wasn't sure of the exact time either."

"So, Ladies, the family is going to be here around 1:30. How are we going to handle this?" Alice asks.

"I think we should call them and let them know what's going on. That way they have time to deal with it however they need to without having to worry about anyone else," I tell her.

"Do you still want them to come?" Alice asks quietly.

I sit up and smile and answer, "Yeah, I think so."

"Alright," Alice stand up and immediately takes charge, "I will call my parents and I will have Jazz call yours. You two relax and let us take care of everything." Alice pulls her cell phone out of her pocket and immediately calls Jasper. She steps out into the courtyard and closes the door behind her.

"Its' times like this I'm glad she's such a pushy little thing," I joke.

Rosalie laughs and then adds, "I know, right?"

A few minutes later Alice joins us back on the couch, she smiles brightly at the two of us, "Ok, we've talked to the parents and they are coming over and bringing lunch, just like we planned."

"Is your Mom, ok?" I ask.

"Yeah," Alice answers quietly, "I think she's just having the same struggles as the rest of us." Alice leans back and gets a little more comfortable on the couch, "She and Renee were planning a shopping trip after Thanksgiving, but she said something about cancelling it now."

"Oh no," I groan and then smile over at Alice, "They can't stay. They really need to go or they are going to drive me crazy."

"I know," Alice giggles, "I've successfully distracted them enough that I think they have forgotten that I'm pregnant."

"You better watch it," Rose pipes up, "once those two get you in their sights they are going to have every last detail of that little ones' life all planned out."

Alice rests her hands on top of her barely there stomach. "I just can't believe it's happening," she whispers.

Rose leans towards Alice and pulls her into a hug.

"Alright, you women decent?" Jasper startles us by yelling through the doorway.

"Jasper," we all groan in unison.

I get up from the couch and walk over to my brother, who is loaded down with grocery bags. "You need a hand with that?"

"Sure," he smiles at me and thrusts a bag my way. I take it out of his hands and then we head to the kitchen.

I glance at the multitude of bags that Jasper is carrying and ask, "I thought you were just picking up some bagels?"

"I was," he sighs loudly, "But, since I was already out, Mom asked me to pick up a few things for lunch."

"They take the news ok?" I ask quietly as I put a gallon of milk into the refrigerator.

"I think so. Mom's upset," he starts taking the groceries out of the bags and then looks over at me, "and Dad is just worried for the both of you."

"Oh," I look down at the counter, trying to hide my face from Jasper. Dealing with Edward leaving was much easier when I was by myself. Now, not only do I have to deal with my feelings, but I also have to deal with the feelings of our entire family. Joy. I trace a dark brown mineral vein that runs through our beige speckled granite counter with my finger, trying to keep my emotions in check. I feel a warm hand on my shoulder and look up to see Jasper standing beside me.

He's smiling slightly with his head cocked a bit to the side. "Sis, it's going to be ok," he says quietly and then pulls me against his chest and wraps his arms around me. I rest my head against his chest and listen to his heartbeat.

"I know," I whisper, "But, I miss him already."

"He'll be back before you know it," Jasper tries to reassure me. He gives me a squeeze and then kisses the top of my head, "The Chief's going to be here soon. So, you better put your game face on."

"Ok," I pull back and wipe the tears away that are threatening to fall from my eyes. "Thanks for, well, everything you and Alice have done for us."

Jasper grins down at me, "You are very welcome. You do know that Alice wouldn't have it any other way, right?"

I nod and begin to tell him I know, when I hear my Mom's voice echoing its' way through the house.

"Bella?" she calls.

Jasper winks, "Its' show time." And I shake my head at him.

"I'm in here," I yell back as I make my way towards the front of the house. I don't make it past the Family Room when my Mom rushes over to me and hugs me tightly. I look up to see my Dad carrying a grocery bag in each hand. I catch his eye and he smiles.

"You hungry, Bells?" Dad asks. He raises the bags as Mom releases me from her hug and pulls me into her side, "You're Mom bought enough food to feed an army."

"Well, we all have to eat," Mom rolls her eyes. She squeezes my hip, "You hungry, sweetie?"

"No, not really," I sigh. "But, let's get everything set up for lunch. That way people can eat what they want whenever."

"Alright, where do you want us to set up?" Mom asks.

"Let's use the kitchen table for the food, no one really eats it anyway," I say as I work my way out of her grasp. I go over by Dad and help him and Jasper unload the groceries from the bags. Mom and Alice immediately begin organizing and setting food on the tables. I turn around and lean against the counter and watch my family as they whirl around me in a flurry of activity.

Out of the corner of my eye I see someone, I assume to be Carlisle or Esme, standing next to couch. I glance over only to see Emmett standing there completely still. His face is stark white and he seems to be breathing heavily and I immediately know something is very… _very_ wrong.

"Emmett?" I gasp and everything in my world stops on a dime and feels like it's balancing on the head of pin… One tiny move and it will all come crashing down around me.

Emmett closes the distance between us in few long strides. The entire time all I can think is _there's something wrong… there's something wrong… there's something wrong._

"Bella," Emmett says as he reaches out at takes my hand. His voice is hoarse and he clears his throat before he continues, "I need you to come with me."

"Emmett, what's going on?" I beg, as he starts to pull me out of the kitchen. I stop and dig in my heels, "No! Tell me what's happened!"

"It's Edward. I need to take you to him," Emmett pleads. He shakes his head in frustration when I refuse to move, "Dammit, Bella, Edward's been shot and I need to take you to the hospital, NOW."

"What? How?" I cry.

"I'll explain on the way, but right now, we have to go," Emmett barks.

Out of nowhere Rosalie materializes at my side with a pair of my sneakers and my purse. "I'm coming with you," she says quietly. I look at my friend who is staring at her fiancé with so much love, while tears are streaming down her face. Emmett looks over at Rose and visibly relaxes and then quickly snaps back into action pulling the two of us toward the front door.

Edward's Volvo is idling at the curb as Emmett runs ahead and opens the passenger-side doors for Rosalie and me. Once I'm inside, Emmett shuts the door and flies around to the driver's side and quickly gets inside.

"Emmett, what happened?" I ask before he can even pull away from the curb.

Emmett clears his throat again, "Somehow Tanya got on base with a gun and then managed to find us in down in the hangar. She unloaded half a clip before we realized what was happening and stopped her."

I gasp and Emmett looks over at me. "She came by the house this morning and I told her that Edward and I were married yesterday," I tell him wishing I would have just kept my big mouth shut this morning.

"Well, you're probably lucky she didn't shoot you," he growls. "That fucking lunatic shot three people today."

"Is Edward ok?" my voice cracks.

Emmett shakes his head, "I really don't know. It's not good, Bells." Emmett reaches over and takes my hand, "She shot him and kept shooting him while he was on the ground." He pauses for a brief second before continuing, "As soon as everything was under control, Masterchief sent me to get you."

Emmett keeps talking, but I don't hear anything else. I find myself chanting _it's not good_ over and over again in my head. It registers when we pass over the Coronado Bridge that he's actually taking me to the hospital. _He's taking me to the hospital to be with Edward…. Edward's in the hospital._

"How'd he get there?" I ask.

"What?" Emmett asks quietly.

I look over at him and ask, "How did Edward get to the hospital?"

"Oh, helo… we loaded him right up on the medi-vac and hopped him over to the hospital," Em answers quickly.

I look around and notice that we are on I-5. "Which hospital?" I murmur.

"He's at Scripps Mercy, it won't take us that much longer," he sighs, looks down at the speedometer and I feel the car push forward, accelerating slightly. Emmett veers off I-5 onto a road I don't remember having been on before, but I recognize Balboa Park is off to our right.

I look down at my hands as they sit in my lap. I twist my wedding band around on my finger. "Oh fuck," I groan, "Emmett, did you give everyone else the details?"

Emmett shakes his head, but then Rosalie speaks up from the back seat, "I texted Alice with the details and they were waiting on Carlisle and Esme to get to the house and then they were all planning on coming up to the hospital."

"Thanks, Rose," I answer without a bit of feeling. I've gone numb… completely and utterly numb. I don't feel my hands that are growing red and irritated as I wring them, franticly. I don't feel my lip split as I bite down into my own flesh. I don't feel any emotions either. I should be upset. I should be scared. I _should_ be a lot of things, but I can't seem to _feel_ anything.

We pull into the hospital and Emmett drops Rose and me off at the Emergency entrance telling us, "I will park the car and I will meet you inside." I nod as Rose takes my hand and we turn and head inside. We walk up to the admittance desk and wait for someone to help me.

A young woman with black, chin-length bobbed hair walks up and asks, "Can I help you?"

"Yes," I answer stoically, "My husband was brought in by helicopter."

Her eyes widen a bit, "What is your husbands' name?"

"Cullen, Edward Cullen."

She enters his name on the keyboard and then looks up at me, "He's been taken to surgery. Let me call someone to take you back." She looks up at Rose and then back at me, "They will only allow family back."

"She's my sister-in-law," I lie.

"Ok, Mrs. Cullen, just take a seat over there and a nurse will be with you in just a moment," she tells me and then points over towards a couple of chairs next to a wooden door.

I nod and walk over towards the chairs. Before I can sit down a tall man with a shaved head dressed in dark blue scrubs comes through the door. He looks at me and arches his eyebrows, "Mrs. Cullen?" he asks.

"That's me," I answer quietly.

"Come with me," he smiles warmly and offers me his hand. "I'm Matthew and I will be your liaison with the operating room."

I politely shake his hand, "Isabella Swan, I'm sorry," I shake my head, "Its' Isabella Cullen, as of yesterday." I take a deep breath and then exhale and find the heart to ask, "He's in surgery?"

Matthew nods as he holds the door open for us. "Yes, when your husband came in we immediately stabilized him and then rushed him straight to surgery."

I follow Matthew silently through a maze of beige and tan hallways, until he eventually leads us to a small waiting room. Matthew turns to us and gives me a kind glance, "Let me go and get an update on our patient and I will be right back with you. Help yourself to whatever you like."

Matthew disappears through the doorway and I turn to Rose. Her bottom lip is trembling and her red-rimmed eyes are filling with tears. I just can't take her losing it on me right now. "Rose, stop. Don't lose it on me," I look up at the paneled ceiling and a quiet, "please," slips from my lips. When I look back at Rose her expression has changed into the tough façade that I am used to seeing coming from one of my best-friends.

"Alright," she answers sharply, "You don't want weepy Rose. So, now you're stuck with bitchy Rose."

I can't help but force a small smile, "Thanks, Rose."

"Anything for you, girl," Rose smiles and nudges my arm as she walks past me towards the door. She stands in the hallway with her hands on her hips glancing down one end and then around to the other. She glances over at me and adds, "That fucker better get back here soon with some information or I'll hunt his ass down."

I want to laugh at her bravado, but I can't. Instead, I turn into the room and take a look around. It's a beige box, completely non-descript except for a well-placed framed print on the wall. There's a soda machine, a vending machine, refrigerator, sink, microwave and coffee pot. A sick feeling starts in the pit of my stomach when I think I might be using that crap soon.

"Mrs. Cullen?" a voice asks and I turn around to see Matthew standing inside the room next to Rosalie.

"What's happening with Edward?" I ask without thinking.

Matthew comes further into the room and extends his hand slightly toward a beige sofa that sits along the wall opposite the television. "Why don't we sit," he offers.

"No, thank you. Just telling me what's going on with Edward," I try not growl at him, but fail.

"Alright," Matthew sighs. "The surgeons have removed the bullets in the most critical areas and are actively working to stop the bleeding as well repair the damage the bullets have caused. Once that is done and he remains stable they will move forward with the less critical injuries."

"How many times was he shot?" I ask nervously, scared to learn the answer.

"In total," Matthew hesitates, "Mr. Cullen was shot six times: Twice in the chest, twice in the abdomen, once in the left shoulder and once in the right thigh."

"Oh my, God," I groan and then turn around. I finally feel something. And it feels like I have been kicked in the stomach. I immediately double over, putting my hands on my knees and fighting back the bile I feel rising up in the back of my throat. Before I can vomit on the floor in front of me, a pair of strong hands pulls me backwards forcing me to sit down on the sofa.

I look up to see Matthew leaning down over me telling me, "Take a deep breath, Mrs. Cullen," he tells me repeatedly until I finally follow is orders. When I finally calm down, Emmett is just inside the room holding Rosalie in his arms.

I look back to Matthew who is squatting down in front of me, "Thank you," I tell him quietly.

"You're welcome," he replies.

"How bad is it?" I ask.

"It's not good, but your husband has a few things going for him. He has remained stable so far and his heart and brain were not injured. His right lung, right kidney, and intestines are the critical injuries, right now. He was also shot in the left shoulder, damaging his collar bone where it meets the shoulder, and right thigh, which luckily is more or less a flesh wound. But those injuries are non-critical and the surgeons may just remove the bullets and save the repairs for another time."

"How long will he be in surgery?"

"As long as he can handle it or until they finish," Matthew replies matter of fact manner.

Now, the tough question, "When can I see him?"

"Once he's settled and stable in ICU they will allow him two visitors at a time. You won't be able to spend the night until he's released from the ICU and in a regular room."

"Thank you for laying it all out there for me," I tell Matthew.

"You are welcome, Mrs. Cullen," he answers politely.

"Call me, Bella," I finally tell him. "Mrs. Cullen is my mother-in-law."

"Ok, Bella. I really should go and check in. But, I will be back in twenty minutes or so, unless there is a change," he tells me as he stands up in front of me. Matthew walks towards Emmett and introduces himself, telling him it's nice to meet Mr. Cullen's brother. Emmett shoots me a questioning cocked eyebrow and I nod in reply. Emmett doesn't contradict Matthew's assumption and continues the conversation.

Rose walks over and sits down beside me. "Alice texted me a few minutes ago letting me know that they are in the parking lot and will be here shortly." She sighs and then asks, "Are you going to be able to deal with them?"

"Yeah, I can handle the family. Do you want to hear something strange?" I ask my friend.

"Sure, but I doubt it can be any stranger than this fucked up day," Rose scoffs.

"Dealing with _this_ is almost easier than dealing with him leaving," I whisper, feeling guilty for feeling this way.

"I think I get it," she answers quietly. "It's the unknown of what they were getting into that was gut-wrenching."

"Yeah," I sigh. I want to keep talking to her, but we are interrupted by Alice charging into the waiting room.

"Oh my God, there you are," Alice practically yells as she throws herself against me and hugs me tight. She pulls back to look at me and asks, "Are you ok?"

I can't help but take exception to question, "Of course, I'm not ok."

Taking the hint, Alice quickly back-peddles, "Sorry, stupid question. How's Edward?"

Before I answer I look around the room and see that the small room is now filled with the rest of my family. My Mom and Esme both look as if they have been doing nothing but crying. While my Dad, Jasper and Carlisle looking thoroughly pissed off.

Alice moves over to sit next to Rose and I get up to go and give my family members a hug: The Dad's and Jasper first, because they are the easiest, then my Mom and then finally Esme who immediately breaks down in my arms. "I can't believe my baby's been shot," she whimpers in my ear while I hug her.

"I know… me either," I tell her quietly.

When I pull away I look back at everyone who is patiently waiting for any bit of information about the man we all love. I realize they are waiting for me to tell them what's going on. I clear my throat and decide to start with the basics. "Edward's in surgery. He was shot six times and the surgeons are working on the most critical injuries first. He was NOT shot in the head or heart. But they are trying to fix his lungs, kidneys and intestines. That's all I know right now, but a Nurse will be back in a bit with an update."

Carlisle clears his throat and I look over at him. "I might be able to find out some more if I throw my name around a bit."

I can't help but nod enthusiastically and Carlisle quickly turns and walks back through the door and disappears down the hall.

Esme takes a hold of my hand and holds onto me as if her life depends on it. I look up at her and see Edward's green eyes blazing back at me. A lump rises in my throat and I feel like I might choke, because it hits me that I may never see Edward's eyes again. "Things are going well so far," I tell her, "he's so strong." I squeeze her hand back and I feel like it's my turn to hang on to her.

"Let's sit," she tells me and not giving me an option, pulls me towards the couch. The guys pull around chairs that had been sitting around the room and Emmett turns on the TV, turning it immediately to ESPN. Me and the Mom's are sitting on the couch while Alice and Rosalie are sitting next to their spouses. Charlie is pacing the room, looking like he needs something to do.

"Dad, are you ok?" I ask him.

He looks up at me and nods, "Sure."

"What's up, Dad?"

"I can't get any information from the military police. I know Tanya has been remanded to the county police, but I want to know how the hell she was able to get a gun on the fucking base," he vents.

By the time he finishes his rant all of us are staring at him intently. Emmett speaks up, "You're right to be pissed. I will put you in touch with Masterchief Hagan and he will give you the information you're wanting."

My Dad turns and glares at Emmett. He raises his eyebrows and demands, "Can I get that number _now_?"

"Sure," Emmett says and then rattles off Masterchief Hagan's phone number, which my Dad immediately dials into his phone and steps out of the room to complete his phone call.

"Ha," Jasper grins, "The Chief's on the phone with the Masterchief."

I can't help but shake my head and smile, "Good one, Jazz."

Matthew comes back into the room with Carlisle right on his heels. Matthew looks directly at me, "I have an update."

"Ok, go ahead," I tell him.

Mathew smiles, "Things are still moving along steadily and all the bleeding is under control. The surgeons have finished with his lung and kidney and are now working on his intestines. And as long as he continues to remain stable they will call in the Orthopedic surgeons into work on his shoulder and his leg."

Impatient to see my husband, "How much longer will he be in surgery?"

"I'm not sure, at least three more hours and that's a conservative estimation. Once the Ortho's get in his shoulder and see how severe the damage is they will have a better idea of how long it will take." Matthew looks down at his watch and then back up at me, "I would say dinner time if you're lucky."

I look over Matthew's shoulder at Carlisle and he nods in the affirmative. "Thanks for the update," I tell Matthew.

"You're welcome. I have to go take care of some things and then I will check back in with you in a little bit," Matthew smiles and walks away.

Carlisle's expression is grim and before I can say anything Esme speaks up, "Carlisle, what's going on?"

Carlisle scrubs his face with his hands and I see Edward's mannerisms all over him. "Nothing... Things are going _exactly_ as Matthew says. Edward is doing remarkably well, considering what he's going through."

"Is he out of the woods?" Esme asks.

"No," Carlisle shakes his head, "and even if _everything_ goes the way it's supposed to be today, he won't be in the clear for at least another two or three days. They are going to have to keep him sedated because of the severity of his injuries and it will take some time to wean him off the drugs so he can wake up. It's all in his body's ability to deal with pain."

"Hell," Emmett grunts, "if that's all it is, Edward will be awake in no time." Emmett looks at me and winks. And I can't help but smile.

"If anyone would know about that, it would be you," I nod towards Em.

Emmett smiles, "You got that right! As pretty as our boy is," he laughs, "he's one of the toughest sons-a-bitches I know." Realizing his faux pas, Emmett quickly glances at Esme, "Sorry, Mrs. C… I… uh… sorry."

Esme quickly lets him off the hook, telling him, "Its' fine, Emmett. I've been called worse. Do you mind telling us something about your… _adventures_?"

Emmett immediately launches into the story of how he first met Edward in a drunken bar brawl where Edward was taking on three Marines who said that SEALs were pussies. Emmett had seen Edward around the barracks and then at the gym, but they had never officially met until Edward threw a Marine who was twice his size on Emmett's table at a bar they were at. Emmett was initially pissed, but when he saw it was Edward, he offered him a hand. Edward quickly told him to "fuck off" and "the day I need a hand dealing with a few jar-heads is the day I fucking retire". Emmett laughed and let Edward beat the hell out of the Marines and then Emmett quickly helped Edward leave the scene before he ended up in trouble with the police.

When Emmett paused for a moment I asked him, "But, I thought you guys met at the gym?"

Emmett laughed, "Yeah, that's what Edward _remembers_. He did drink quite a bit the night before."

The next few hours are filled with everyone trading Edward stories. Jasper told the one about the two of them defending me and Alice's honor in high school. Alice told the one about Edward climbing out on the roof to get her cat, when he fell completely off the roof of a two-story house and ended up walking away with nothing but a skinned elbow. Esme told us how when Edward was a baby he used to climb to the top of _everything_ and one day she found him on the tops of the cabinets in the kitchen. We all had a good laugh at that one. Charlie even spoke up about the day he realized Edward was interested in me as a girl-friend and not Jasper's little sister. Carlisle had to bring up the time Edward earned a black eye from me… he failed to mentioned the fact that I was ten and Edward was twelve at the time. We had been goofing around playing basketball and I went to steal the ball from Alice and somehow managed to elbow Edward in the face giving him an immediate black eye and goose egg the size of a golf ball.

Matthew would come in and out with updates, occasionally pausing to listen to an Edward story. Edward continues to remain stable allowing the surgeons to continue operating. The Orthopedic surgeons, on the other hand, were not pleased with the amount of damage done to the tissue around the shoulder or with the amount of damage done to bone. When Matthew told us it is going to take a little longer than expected, the Mom's made the Dad's go find everyone dinner.

"I don't care what you get," Renee snaps at Charlie, "just bring back some food."

Both Charlie and Carlisle roll their eyes as the head out. Charlie stops in the doorway, "Jasper, Emmett, get your asses up." The pair immediately jump to their feet and follow the Dad's out to get dinner.

Before I can say a word Matthew is standing in the waiting room. "I have some news," he smiles. "The Orthopedic surgeons have decided that there's nothing more they can do today. They were easily able to take care of his leg, but Edward's shoulder is a bit more complicated."

"What does that mean, exactly?" I ask trying not to get my hopes up.

"It means that Edward will be taken to the ICU sometime in the next thirty minutes and you will be able to see him once he's completely settled."

"Oh my," Esme gasps.

"Really?" I ask and my Mom squeezes my hand.

"Really," Matthew smiles wider. "So, I'm going to go and see what I can do and then I will be back to take you up to see Edward, ok?"

"Ok… you said thirty minutes?" I ask afraid to get my hopes up.

"Yep, but it could be a little longer. So, don't worry yourselves if I'm not back in _exactly_ thirty minutes." He pauses and looks around at the five of us. "This isn't an exact science… but Edward has done amazingly well… and you will see him soon."

I tell Matthew "Thank you" as he nods his head and turns to walks back out the door.

"I need to call your Dad," my Mom gasps and begins rummaging through her purse for her cell phone. As she's dialing she looks up at me and asks, "Do you think they should still bring back food?"

I shrug my shoulders, "It's probably a good idea considering we don't know how long it's going to take them to get Edward settled."

Esme and Alice are sitting together on the couch and look deep in conversation and Rose is standing next to the texting. "Hey guys," speaking loud enough to garner their attention, "I'm going to step outside for a few minutes and get some air."

"Do you want company?" Rose asks.

"No, I'm good," I tell her and head out into the hallway.

I head out to the right, opposite of the way we came in, and find a nurse's station just a little further down the hall. Two nurses are seated behind an almost chest-high counter. The blonde looks up at me with a puzzled expression, "Can I help you?" she asks.

"Yes," I tell her, "I've been waiting for my husband to be moved from the O.R. to ICU and I am wondering if there is a place where I can easily go to get some fresh air?"

"What is your husband's name?" she asks.

"Edward Cullen," I tell her, wondering what his name has to do with getting fresh air.

"Ok, Mrs. Cullen, if you continue down this hall until it T's and turn left you will see a door at the end of the hall. There is a small garden area that has a table and chairs."

"Thanks," I mutter and head on my way. I follow the hall like I'm told and when I come to the T I pause and look down both ways. I look left first and see the door the nurse had told me about, but when I look left I see Masterchief Hagan talking to Matthew and what looks to be two Doctor's. I instantly decide to go to the right and see what Masterchief is doing here.

The group of men must have heard my approaching footsteps because they all look over at me at almost the exact same time. Masterchief and Matthew smile, while the Doctors expressions remain impassive.

"Bella," Masterchief immediately turns towards me and begins closing the gap between us. "Is there anything I can do for you?" he quickly asks as he pulls me into an awkward hug.

"Masterchief," I force a small, tight smile, "when did you get here?" I look past him to see that the Doctor's and Matthew have both disappeared.

"Just a bit ago," he smiles wryly. "Your father called me earlier and gave me quite a ration of shit. Not that I blame him one bit. I had to take care of a few things on base before I could come, but I called ahead to make sure my son would take great care of you guys."

"Your son?" I ask completely surprised. I didn't know that Masterchief had any family.

"Yeah, Matthew is my step-son. But, I raised him from the time he was five, so he's really my son."

"Oh, Matthew didn't say anything," I trail of at the end not sure why Matthew didn't tell us who he was.

"He wasn't supposed to. Patient's aren't _supposed _to get preferential treatment." He winks at me. "Where were you headed?" he asks.

"I was going to sit outside and get a little air before the guys came back with dinner and before we have to go up to ICU," I tell him quietly.

"Would you like some company?" he asks in return.

I nod my head, "Sure."

Masterchief, like a true gentleman, offers me his arm. I take it and we walk in silence down the hall and out into a small, well-manicured courtyard. It's a square area with grass through the middle. There's a fountain off to one side and potted plants and flowers placed carefully around the space. A wrought iron table and chair set sit opposite the fountain on a small paver patio.

Masterchief leads me to the table and pulls out my chair for me and then takes the seat opposite of me. He looks at me expectantly and all I can do is self-consciously ask, "What?"

"I'm sorry," he responds and then clears his throat, "I usually know what to say, but in this particular situation, it's escaping me."

"Well, I feel the same way," I sigh.

"How are you holding up?" he asks.

"I'm ok. I think now that we know Edward is out of surgery and we will be able to see him soon is making it easier. But, honestly, the fact that he's here and not somewhere _unknown_ is a relief," I tell him honestly.

"Wow," he mutters, "I guess I never really thought about it that way."

I raise an eyebrow at him, "Have you ever had to?"

"No, I guess not. This situation is very umm… unique," he answers quietly.

I can't help but scoff, "You think?" I sit back in my chair and cross my arms. It's not that he's making me mad, but Masterchief's not really saying anything and it's frustrating. "So, tell me what the hell happened today," I bark at him.

"Are you sure you want to know?" he asks. I nod quickly. "Ok, the men were in a debriefing about their upcoming mission. As they were being dismissed Edward, Paul, and Felix were leading the team out of the hanger when Mrs. Yorkie confronted them. From what we've gathered so far, she exchanged a few words with Edward and then pulled out a handgun and proceeded to fire, shooting the three of them. She actually took aim at Emmett, but was wrestled to the ground before she could fire. I'm pretty sure she was able to get the gun through because everyone is very familiar with her and because of that familiarity no one thought twice about her being there.

"Once we had her under control, the platoon corpsman, Chief Doran, stepped in and quickly assessed everyone's injuries, getting Edward medi-vac'ed to the nearest trauma center. We actually broke a lot of rules getting Edward here." He laughs, "We actually landed one of our helo's on their deck without permission. And I'm certain there will be hell to pay for it, but right now, frankly, I don't care. I've called in quite a few favors to make sure the best Doctors were called in for Edward and I'm ready to call in more if I have to."

"Why are you doing all this? I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but it seems like you're risking an awful lot by doing what you've done. I know Edward is good at his job and all, but…" I stop talking and look up at him waiting for a reply.

"You're right. Edward is very good at his job, and I would like to think I would do this for all my men. But, I know that's not true. Edward has worked hard at not just becoming a good soldier, but also at becoming a good man. He's done a lot for my family and several other families," he shakes his head slightly and looks up at me and can tell by my expression that I have no idea what he's talking about. "You don't know, do you?"

"Know what?" I snap, because I'm shocked and I _don't_ know.

"Well," Masterchief looks up at me and then scratches the back of his head, "I guess it started right after you left a couple of years ago. Edward really pushed for there to be more support for SEALs and their families. When the Navy refused to step up, Edward created a foundation to help SEALs and their families receive the monetary and emotional support they may need while being deployed or dealing with the after effects of the job."

"I didn't know," I whisper.

"I didn't think you did," he offers me a week smile, "When Edward started the foundation, he was forced to give a speech to Commanding Officers of all the bases in the Southwest to try to make them understand the importance of what he was doing. The speech he gave was very moving because it came from his own _personal_ experiences with you." Masterchief looks at me fondly, "it killed him that he wasn't able to give you what you needed. It killed him because his inability to balance his job with his life drove you away. And once Garrett and Emmett got him to stop abusing himself over it, Edward turned it around and created something amazing. Do you know what the name of the foundation is?" I shake my head no. "He named it after you. It's called _The Swansong Foundation_. I think it made him feel better that, even though he was never able to help you, he made sure that there was help available for anyone who may need it."

As Masterchief explains, my chest constricts for the hundredth time today and my eyes fill with tears. I knew my leaving had broken him on many levels, but I had no idea how profoundly it truly affected him. I wipe the tears away to keep them from falling down my cheeks.

Masterchief Hagan leans forward and pats my hand, "I'm sorry, Bella, I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's ok, I had no idea what Edward had done," I tell him quietly. I'm not sure why he didn't tell me, but it really doesn't matter right now. "Thank you, Masterchief," I tell him sincerely, "for everything. Matthew has been a Godsend and I you should know that I do not hold anyone but Tanya responsible for what happened today."

Masterchief nods, "That's kind of you," he says quietly. "But, Bella, why do you call me Masterchief?"

"I don't know," I shrug, "that's what the guys call you. So, I just have always followed suit."

"Please call me, John," he smiles at me.

"Alright, thank you, John." I look down at my watch and see that I twenty-five minutes have passed. "I should probably get back to my family. Would you like to join us while we wait?" I offer as I stand up.

Masterchief stands with me as he answers, "Sure, that would be nice. You don't think your Dad's going to kill me do you?" he half-heartedly jokes.

"I don't know," I shrug, "He's pissed off. But I think as long as someone steps up and takes responsibility he'll be willing to focus on making sure Tanya is punished to the full extent of the law."

"Well," he begins as he holds the door open for me, "The MP's on-duty are being questioned and I'm certain that after everything is reviewed there will be a change in our standard operating procedures and at the very least there will be a few reprimands handed down. It all depends on what the evidence shows."

As I listen to what he's saying, I wonder if he realizes that I have a restraining order against Tanya. "John?" I stop inside the doorway, "Do you know that I have a restraining order issued against Tanya and that she came to the house this morning wanting to speak to Edward?"

His brow immediately furrows. "No, I didn't know_ any_ of that."

"She's actually attacked me on one occasion and since I've been around she's had a very unhealthy obsession with Edward. And when I talked to him about getting a restraining order he just laughed it off saying that he could handle her." I shake my head wishing we had ALL taken her more seriously and then with a somber, meek voice I add, "But, I don't think any of us ever thought it would come to this."

"I will make sure that you and Edward are both interviewed when the time comes, but for now we need to focus on getting him the hell out of this place," he smiles and once again, offers me his arm.

We make out way back towards the waiting room, neither one of us saying another word. As we reach the nurse's station we find Matthew looking more frazzled than he has the entire day. When he sees us he hurries our way, "Where were you?" he asks me frantically.

"I needed some air. You saw me go outside with your Dad. Why? What's wrong?" I ask beginning to panic.

Matthew quickly glances back and forth between the Masterchief and me. "Nothing is wrong," he reassures me with his calm 'nurses' voice, "I am getting everyone together to head up to the ICU. By the time we get up there, Edward should be settled and you will be able to see him."

"Oh, and you were waiting on me?" I ask, finally understanding his frustration.

Matthew nods, "Yes, and no one seemed to know where you were."

"I'm sorry," I apologize to him for making his job harder than it needed to be, "I told the Nurses' where I was going and my family knew."

"No worries," he smiles kindly at me, "Let's get everyone together and get you all to Edward." He quickly turns and leads us back to the waiting room where we find everyone nervously looking towards the door.

"You found her," Mom gasps and my head instantly snaps to her. Esme is instantly in front of me pulling me into a hug.

"Where were you?" My Dad instantly demands while glaring at me.

I'm instantly frustrated with my parents' reaction, "I told you guys, I needed to get some fresh air. Why are you guys over-reacting?"

My Dad comes and stands in front of us. His face is hard and he looks ready to fight to the death and I know something else has happened. I ask carefully, "What's going on, Dad?"

"It's Tanya," he growls, "Somehow she didn't make it to the station and no one seems to know where she is."

"You have to be fucking kidding me," I groan.

"I wish I was, Bells," he places a hand on my shoulder. "Officers are on their way to guard you and Edward until they can find her."

"What about everyone else. None of us are safe," I yell, while on the verge of tears. I can't believe that somehow Tanya is on the loose. "Has anyone called Kate? Does she know what's going on?"

"I will make sure," Masterchief says from behind me and by the time I turn around to thank him he's gone.

I make eye contact with Matthew who is quietly standing in the doorway. "Are you ready for us to go up?" I ask him, wanting to get to Edward.

"Are you guys ready? Because you guys need to be calm and quiet where you're up there and I understand that this is beyond difficult right now… But if you," he pauses dramatically and makes eye contact with each member of my family, "can't stay calm, you're going to have to wait in the ICU waiting room until you can. It is _very_ important to Edward's recovery that everyone is calm and under control."

I speak before everyone else, "I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm ready." I turn back to my family, "It's time for all of us to get our shit together." I look at my Dad who goes to speak, but I cut him off, "Let the police catch Tanya, and we will do what we have to take care of one another, ok." Esme has been quietly standing beside me. So, I take her hand and give her a small smile, "Let's go see Edward."

"Ok," she whispers and smiles back at me and the pair of us follow Matthew out the door. It doesn't take the rest of our family very long to figure it out and fall in line, joining us in the elevator that is just down the hall.

Once the elevator door closes in front of us Matthew begins to explain what we will see. "Right now, Edward is heavily sedated until his body can tolerate his injuries a bit better. He's on a ventilator, because he cannot breath on his own, while being so sedated. He also hooked up to an IV and a heart monitor. But, the 'vent' will look the scariest because it's covering his mouth. He is also very pale because of the amount of blood he lost. His left arm has been immobilized, and I'm sure that at some point the nurses will familiarize you with his other injuries, but you can't see _them_ right now." The elevator dings and the door behind us, startling us for a second.

We follow Matthew until we reach a pair of doors clearly marked ICU when he turns around abruptly to face us, "Ok, only two can come in at a time. The waiting room is to the left. Make yourselves comfortable and we will be back in a bit." He looks down at me and Esme and says, "Let's go."

Esme turns and gives Carlisle a quick hug, while I simply offer a slight smile and a nod. Esme takes my hand and squeezes it tighter than she had before and I give hers a light squeeze back and then she relaxes.

Matthew doesn't say another word as he turns and presses a button next to the door and then we are quickly buzzed in. He walks us up to the nurses' station where one nurse is busily handling charts while entering information into a computer. While two other are discussing an issue quietly, but intensely. Matthew clears his throat and the nurse at the computer quickly looks up at him and then over to me and Esme. "Mrs. Cullen?" she asks.

Esme and I say "Yes," at the exact same time making the nurse smile.

She looks at me and asks, "Wife?" and I nod. And then at Esme and asks, "Mother?" and Esme nods. "Nice, to meet you Ladies, I'm Nina and I will be working closely with Edward and his Doctors until he is healthy enough to go to a regular room." Nina pushes her chair away from the desk and stands, stretching before walking around the side to shake our hands. Nina is a petite brunette with sparkling blue eyes and what seems to be a very kind voice. "Right now we only have two other patients, but that can change quickly. Come with me," she says and nods over her left shoulder. "Edward is doing very well and is resting calmly. But, please feel free to talk to him because I'm sure he will want to hear your voices."

She continues to talk as we walk, but I have lost interest. My sole focus is the bed in front of us. It feels like it takes us forever to get there. At first, all I can see while trying to look around Nina is the outline of what must be Edward's body under his blankets. I take a deep breath trying to steady myself for what I'm about to see.

Nina steps off to the side to look at the mass of buzzing and beeping machines that are on the right side of his bed. And Esme and I gasp in unison. Edward is very, _very _pale. He's literally as white as a sheet and it makes the stubble on his face and his short hair more coppery in color than normal. And seeing the ventilator tube taped across his mouth is more disturbing than I thought it would be. I choke back a sob as Esme pulls me around the left side of the bed. His left arm is against his chest and I can see that his left shoulder is heavily bandaged. Esme immediately drops my hand and walks to the head of the bed and kisses his cheek and begins whispering in his ear. I look him over and see his right hand sitting on top of his blanket, an IV sitting visibly on his arm.

Nina turns to face us, "If an alarm sounds, stay put until one of us tells you what to do, ok?" She waits for both of us to nod and then says, "I will be back in a bit. If you need anything just press this," and shows an orange button on the inside of the bed.

Once she heads away from his bed I walk over to the right side of the bed and gently take Edward's hand into mine. His hand is barely warm, but I'm relieved that it's doesn't feel like ice. When Esme steps back she looks at me, "He looks better than I thought he would, don't you think?" I nod because I can't find the words. "I think I should go get Carlisle," she says abruptly.

"Are you sure?" I ask, not believing that she can even imagine walking away from Edward right now.

"Yes," she looks at me and I can tell that she is completely sure. "Talk to him, Bella," she tells me and then turns and briskly walks away.

I look up at my husband's blank face and reach up and cup his face with my free hand. He looks like he's sleeping peacefully and if it wasn't for the tube in his mouth and the wires coming from his arm and chest you would think he was asleep. I let go of his hand and stand up and kiss his temple and then whisper into his ear, "Hey Baby. I'm here with you, now. You're Dad's coming in a second." Tears begin to fall from my eyes rest my forehead against the side of his head and his short hair pokes uncomfortably into my skin. I take a deep breath aching to smell his familiar scent and all I smell is hospital. I kiss his ear and tell him, "Relax and sleep, Baby, so your body will heal and you can come back to me ok. I will be here, holding your hand, until you wake up." I give his temple another chaste kiss and stand back to take his hand.

I startle when I see Carlisle standing at the foot of Edward's bed with tears filling his eyes. "You okay?" he asks me quietly.

"Yeah," I answer and then wipe my own tears away. Carlisle moves to stand by the head of the bed and then tenderly reaches up and places a hand on the top of Edward's head.

"Son," he says in his normal speaking voice, "I love you," he chokes, "and I'm so proud of you," he takes a deep breath and then continues, "you take your time and heal, ok?" Carlisle gently rubs Edwards head and then looks over at me. "I brought you a chair so you can sit with him," he says and then glances to the foot of the bed.

"Thank you," I whisper. I appreciate his thoughtfulness and let go of Edward's hand for a moment to pull the chair over beside Edward. "Will there be enough room for it?"

Carlisle glanced over my shoulder and nodded.

For the next few hours, each member of our family patiently waits their turn to spend a few moments with Edward. None of them saying a word about my refusal to leave his side. I hold his hand and gently stroke his arm, trying to reassure him that I will not be leaving him. They all talk to him in slightly different way: Alice whimpers through her tears for him to get better, while Jasper practically punches him the arm and grunts, all the while tears are streaming down his face. Emmett, of course, had to get me and nurse Nina laughing by telling us a joke at Edward's unconscious expense. My Dad on the other hand was overly somber, vowing to take care of 'all of this mess'. Mom was a mess and did say anything other than 'I love you' and Rose just told him to hurry up and 'wake the hell up' because she's 'tired of being the strong bitch' for me already, causing me to laugh quietly.

When visiting hours are over, Nina and the other nurses try to convince me to go and get some rest because Edward won't be waking up any time soon. I adamantly refuse and look to Carlisle for assistance. "They want me to leave him," I tell Carlisle quietly and I can't stop the tears from falling. "After everything that has happened today, there's no way," I begin sobbing and Carlisle pulls me against his chest and hugs me gently, "I can't leave him," I whisper.

"I will take care of it," he tells me and kisses the top of my head. Carlisle gives me a gentle squeeze and then turns around to go talk to the nurses.

When Nina returns, she gives me a sharp look, "If you are going to be staying the night then we need to get you a better chair."

I can't help but smile at her and tell her, "Thank you."

"Hey, don't thank me," she scoffs, "thank your father-in-law. He threw down his name and started making phone calls and sure enough the powers that be say you can stay. But, you have to follow the rules: when alarms go off you stay put until we tell you otherwise, if _WE _say you are starting to stink you take a shower and if _WE _say you need to eat, you eat. Can you do that?"

"Yeah, I can do that," I smile at her and whisper, "Thank you."

Nina nods and continues checking the machines that are helping to keep my husband alive. "I need to change his dressings," she looks at me, "you haven't seen them yet, and the first time can be a bit… distressing. His leg looks fine. They were able to get the bullet out easily and it looks like a simple cut that has been stitched. She pulls his blanket back and shifts his gown so I can see, "But, the incisions on his chest and abdomen are large and stapled shut. There's also a drain for some of the fluid that has been collecting in his chest," she shows me a tube that is filled with pink fluid. Nina gently pulls the first dressing away from his chest and I cringe. His chest looks like its' being held together by a row of silver staples and his skin is red and bloody in places. "I know it's probably not much of a consolation, but it looks pretty good. Your Edward must have taken pretty good care of himself, huh?" Nina asks in a half-teasing, half-appreciative tone.

"Edward's job is very… umm… physically demanding. So, he has to keep himself in excellent shape. He eats healthy most of the time, but still loves a good cheeseburger," I smile.

"Is he in the Navy?"

"Yeah, he's a SEAL," I answer quietly.

"Oh," she's quiet for a second, "how long has he been in?"

"He's been in the Navy for almost ten years and a SEAL for eight." I wince again, as she removes the second set of bandage that reveal an incision that looks to run laterally from his navel around to his side.

"Had he ever been injured on the job?" Nina asks making conversation as she goes.

"Occasionally, he would come home a bit bruised and battered. But, nothing like this," I tell her quietly.

"Wow, that's crazy," she sighs.

"I know." Is all I say, because she's right, it is crazy.

The first night I spend at the hospital is uncomfortable to say the least. The chair they give me reclines a bit, but every noise I hear keeps me from getting any real sleep. So, between the machines and the nurses checking on Edward every two to three hours, I barely got any sleep.

The next morning, I drink multiple cups of coffee trying to keep myself awake and alert. Esme brings me a change of clothes, my toiletries and bagel with cream cheese for breakfast and Nina insists I need to shower after I eat my breakfast. I obey and reluctantly eat my breakfast and then follow directions tht Edward's new nurse, Ann, offers me to an empty room nearby for me to shower and change clothes in.

I pass Carlisle on the way to the room and tell him, "It's your turn," as I jog past him. Carlisle just nods and heads into the ICU.

I turn on the shower while I brush my teeth and then quickly jump in wash my hair, wash my face, rinse, condition my hair, wash my body, rinse and then shave. I shut off the water and dry off as fast as I can and then throw on my clothes, not paying a bit of attention to what I'm putting on. I throw my sneakers back on rush back to the ICU. I know Carlisle and Esme are having some time with Edward, but I can't wait to get back in to see him.

"Bellaaaaaaa," I hear Emmett call my name and turn around to see him coming out of a corner room I had just passed.

I smile and walk towards him, "Hi, Em."

"How are you holding up, kiddo?" he asks and lightly punches my shoulder.

"I'm ok. Have they found Tanya, yet?" I ask.

His normally grinning face turns somber with my question and then he answers, "No, not yet, but as soon as they do I will let you know, ok. How's Ed?"

"No change. He's been so stable, that they are talking about beginning to wean him off the vent today and if he can breathe on his own, they will begin reducing the pain meds and then, hopefully, he will begin to wake-up," I say with a bit of pep at the end. I can't help but hope it all goes as planned.

"Wow, they work quick," Emmett smiles.

"They work within the confines of what his body is capable of handling and he's so strong…" I'm trying to contain my excitement but I can't help myself.

"Bells," Emmett sighs.

"What?" I ask a bit confused.

He reaches forward and takes my hand, "I would hate to see you get your hopes up and then…" his voice trails away.

And I don't hesitate to tell him, "Emmett McCarty, if you're going to be here, you're going to have to be positive, ok?"

"Okay, okay… be positive… I got it," he smiles.

"Thanks, who else is in there?" I ask trying to peek past him into the room.

"No one right now, but Rose will be here soon. We all talked last night and agreed to not all rush up here all at once. We are supposed to come up in shifts, but I will be surprised if that happens today," he sighs, "I think we all want to be here with you guys right now."

"Awe Em, you're getting all soft on me," I poke at his stomach, "aren't you sweet."

"Yeah, yeah," Emmett blushes. "I have to be on-base at 9:00 this morning, so I wanted to come by early to see my boy.

"Well' as soon as Esme and Carlisle come out…" I glance over my shoulder at the door, hoping one of them would magically appear, but it doesn't happen. "Is there a phone in there?" I point into the waiting room.

"Yeah," he answers, "Why?"

"I need to call the ICU," I tell him as I walk past him into the waiting room. It's the same size as the last waiting, but the colors are slightly warmer and there aren't any vending machines. I see the phone sitting on a table by the couch and press the button to call the ICU.

A nurse I hadn't been introduced to answers the phone, "ICU, this is Vanda."

"Hi, Vanda, this is Mrs. Cullen, my husband Edward is being visited by his parents. Could you please ask one of them to step outside please?"

"Sure thing Mrs. Cullen. The Doctor's will be making their rounds soon, so if you have any questions, you might want to come in soon," she tells me.

"Ok, thanks, as soon as one of my in-laws come out, I will be there," I reassure her.

"Ok, I will give them the message," she says quickly and then hangs up the phone.

It only takes a couple of minutes for Carlisle to come out and find me. "Thanks, Carlisle," I smile up at my handsome father-in-law.

"I'm no fool," he smiles crookedly at me, "I know whose voice my son _really_ wants to hear."

I smile at him and walk towards the ICU as he turns his attentions to Emmett. I hit the buzzer and wait for the nurses to buzz me in. I nod to the nurses behind the counter and head straight to Edward.

Esme is sitting beside Edward holding his hand and steadily chatting away. She hears me walking her way and glances up and smiles at me. I hear he say, "and here's our girl now," to Edward. She stands up and kisses his forehead, "I'll be back soon," she tells him and then turns to me.

"Is Emmett out there?" she asks and I nod. "Alright, I will send him in." Esme quietly moves past me and I move to take my seat next to Edward. I take his hand back into mine and say, "Hey, Baby." And then I feel what I think is him very faintly squeeze my hand. "Edward!" I practically yell, "Did you just squeeze my hand?" I don't wait for a response, before I lean forward and press the nurse call button. "Baby, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand again."

I feel his fingers move just a tiny bit against my hand.

Before I can squeal for joy, Ann is next to me, "Everything ok, Mrs. Cullen?"

"I was talking to him and he squeezed my hand," I tell, trying not to squeal like a school girl.

"Are you sure?" she asks and then immediately checks Edwards' stats and readouts.

"Yes, and when I asked him to do it again, he moved his fingers."

"Ok, can I get in there?" she asks and I quickly move to the other side of the bed.

Ann takes my place and wraps her hands around Edwards. "Hi, Mr. Cullen, I'm your nurse, Ann," she tells him. "Can you move your hand or fingers for me?" I look down at his hand and don't see anything, but when I look up at Ann's face I see that she's smiling. "That's really good, Mr. Cullen," she tells him. "I'm going to go and call your Doctor and see what he would like us to do next, ok?" She smiles again.

"Well?" I ask because I need to know she felt something, too.

"He's definitely responsive," she smiles, "It's very surprising, considering how heavily sedated he is. I'm going to call Dr. Yin and see when he will be here for rounds. Keep talking to him and I will be back as soon as I can."

"Ok," I tell her and then move back to hold Edward's hand. "I'm here, Baby," I tell him sweetly and then stroke his hand. His hand moves again, a little stronger this time. Within seconds his heart-rate monitor begins to pick up pace and the faster beeping makes me very nervous. I look at the monitor and realize that he needs to calm down or they are going to sedate him further. I jump out my seat and stand next to his head. I lean down and kiss his the tip of his ear and begin talking to him, "Baby, calm down. You have to relax or they are going to have to give you something to calm you. Come on, listen to me." The beeping begins to slow and I know he is more conscious than we realize. "I love you so much and I'm so happy you're going to be ok. You are doing so good and I'm so proud of you. Just relax. That's it. You are so amazing."

I pull away and look down at his face and I can see that his eyes are fluttering. "Baby, are you trying to open your eyes?" I ask completely amazed at him and what I'm seeing happen in front of me. "Just relax, don't push. It's going to happen soon enough." His arm twitches on the bed and I hold it with my left while gently cupping his face with my hand. His heart-rate jumps again and I immediately try to coax him back down. Once he relaxes again and I begin talking to him about our wedding and how happy he's made me. All the while I steady watch his eyes fluttering under closed lids. "Baby, you have to quit trying so hard, ok. Just relax. I will be here when you open your eyes. I promise. I'm not going anywhere. Ok?" I carefully run my fingers over his brow and down his cheek bone and when I run the pad of my thumb under his eye I almost jump out of my skin when he opens his eyes.

"Hi," I whisper, smiling into the brilliant green eyes of my husband.

* * *

**a/n: Ok... so is everyone ok or do I need to run and hide? Before you guys decide to string me up, please remember that I am all about the HEA**

**Did you really think the crazy beotch had really went away? **

**Another note some of you are not going to like... there is only one chapter left... and it's the epilogue... and I will not be posting it for another two weeks.**

**Sorry everyone, but this is how this story was always going to go... **

**So, let me know what you think... love it, hate it or eh... let me know!**

**For those of you reading 'You Could Be Happy'... I hope to post the next chapter by the end of the week.**


	22. Chapter 21 Epilogue

**First of all I need to apologize for falling of the face of FF... I have lots of excuses which I'm sure none of you want to hear. I am truly very sorry for keeping you hanging so long and I appreciate everyone for sticking with me. I have written this final chapter three times and am finally happy with it. **

**The flow is a bit different and It's a from Edward's POV.**

**I do not own Twilight, but I do love it so...**

* * *

Edward's POV

_I need Bella…_

_I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella… I need to see Bella…_

_I hear Bella. _

_I need to open my eyes and see that she's ok. But my eyes are so heavy I can't force them to open. I feel strange… hell, that's not the right fucking word. I need to focus…_

_What's the last thing I remember seeing? Emmett's face as he tells me he's going to get Bella, while I'm being secured in a helicopter. _

_Why was I in a helicopter? I have to think harder for a moment and then I remember: Tanya standing there with a blank expression on her face, pointing a 9mm Beretta at me. I remember the searing pain of being shot… I remember feeling it again and then hitting the ground… I remember hearing the vague sounds of my men scrambling around me trying to save me while taking the crazy bitch out. _

_I hear Bella._

_And I will my fucking brain to open my damn eyes…_

_I see Bella._

"Hi," she says with the sweetest smile I have ever seen in my entire life gracing her lips. Her hand is gently cradling my face and I lean my head slightly into her hand. I try to speak, but I can't… there's a fucking tube in my throat. I want it out. I try to move my hand towards the tube, but it doesn't get very far before Bella takes it into hers. "Calm down, baby," she whispers as she squeezes my hand reassuringly, "I will call the nurses and they will know what to do, ok?"

All I can do is grunt and try to nod my head.

The next few hours I'm surrounded by a whirlwind of activity. All the Doctors say is that I shouldn't be awake. I should still be asleep and definitely not breathing on my own. What they don't understand or have underestimated is who I am… I'm a fucking Navy SEAL… I'm trained to survive… to overcome… to always, always make it through. Their drugs are nothing… but they don't need to know that now do they?

When they finally agree to take the tube out of my throat I'm overjoyed. They want Bella to leave the room, but she refuses. She stands tall and glares at the Doctor, "If you think I'm leaving my husbands' side _now_ you've lost your mind," she tells him. The Doctor shakes his head in frustration and then walks away to make preparations. I smile at my girl in spite of the tube in my mouth. Bella looks over at me, catching my smile, "What?" she asks with a smile of her own, "You think that was funny?" I try to smile wider and nod my head.

She takes her chair next to the bed and takes my hand into hers. I finally notice the dark circles under Bella's eyes and her hair is pulled into a high pony-tail. She looks very, very tired. I want to tell her that I love her and that it's all going to be ok. I want to get the hell out of this bed and go back to our house and make love to my girl in our bed. I don't want to be here any longer than I have to be, that's for damn sure.

"You ok?" Bella asks, her voice shaking just a bit.

I shake my head no, then yes, and then I try to shrug my shoulders. I groan because that little bit of a shrug really fucking hurt.

Bella catches on quickly. "You're in pain," she tells me. Before I can respond in any way she's already hit the nurse-call button. Within seconds the Doctor and two nurses enter my room.

"Is everything ok?" one of the nurses asks.

"He's in pain," Bella tells her quickly. I hear the Doctor mumble something about morphine and Nurse two moves quickly out of the room.

"Alright, Mr. Cullen," the Doctor begins, "we are going to give you something for the pain and that _should_ relax you enough that removing the tube should be a piece of cake. You will probably have a sore throat for a few days and it's possible you could also be a little hoarse. When Regina comes back she's going to administer some Morphine to your IV and once it has taken effect we will proceed with removing the breathing tube, ok?"

I nod. I'm not sure that I really need the morphine or if it will even work, but if it will help me relax then I guess that's fine. Nurse two or Regina returns, syringe in hand, and quickly makes her way over to me. I watch her as she swipes the port in my IV with an alcohol swab and then smiles up at me, "This might burn a little," she says as she puts the syringe into the port and slowly pushes the plunger down, forcing the Morphine into my IV.

She's right, it does burn a little. My arm feels a little heavy and I feel a warm sensation slowly creep its' way up my arm. I feel my eyes get heavy and I look over at Bella. "Do you feel the meds, baby?" she asks and I nod… or at least I think I nodded, but I'm not completely sure, but whatever I did it must have been funny because Bella starts giggling.

I can't help but smile as I look at my girl. Since we've been back together our lives have been a fucking whirlwind and she's handled it all like a champ. When Alice told me six months ago that Bella was getting married I swear my heart broke all over again. I never thought _anything_ would ever hurt as much as when Bella left me, but that was before I was faced with the prospect of never EVER having her back in my life.

When I went to work the next day, Emmett immediately caught on to my crappy mood and proceeded to dog me all fucking day asking me continuously, "What's wrong, Edward?" until I finally blurted, "Bella's getting married." He shut-up for a bit, but stayed close through-out the rest of the day. He wanted me to grab a beer with him, but when I refused he told me, "Man, if you are still THAT strung out over that chick after all this time maybe you better do something about it."

When I asked Alice what I should do all she'd say was, "Do what you feel is right." She told me that the guy Bella was marrying was a good guy who did a lot of good things and he treated Bella very well. She told me that Charlie even approved of him, which was amazing because Charlie barely approved of me and I had been around forever.

The weeks leading up to her wedding I felt like I was carrying an elephant on my back. I seldom ate, I couldn't concentrate at work and my PT and training were killing me. My Master-chief pulled me aside told me, "Cullen get your head on fucking straight or it's going to cost you your ass."

Emmett kept riding me telling me to call her, but I could bring myself to pick up the phone. What was I supposed to say? "Um, Hi Bella… it's me Edward… I know we haven't seen one another or talked to each in a while… but there's no way you should be marrying anyone but me." Oh yeah, I'm sure that would have gone over like a lead balloon. So, I did nothing but annoy the hell out of my crew because I couldn't think straight.

The morning before the wedding Emmett showed up on my door with a suitcase in hand. When I opened the door, he pushed his way past me shoving some paperwork against my chest. "Dude, you're getting on a plane in hour," he grumbled as he stalked past me and disappeared into my bedroom. I looked down at the papers he had handed me: one was a five-day leave chit and the other was a plane ticket from San Diego to Jacksonville. I'm not sure how long I stood there in my open doorway staring blankly at the papers in my hands. Emmett yelling my name snapped me back into reality and I spun around, slamming my front door, and practically ran through the house and up to my bedroom. I found Emmett packing my dress whites in a suit bag while throwing random other things into an open suitcase. He looked up at me and smiled, "I'm not sure what you need, so I'm just throwing a bunch of shit in here. So, you might want to come over here and take a look." I took a quick assessment and made a few changes, but was packed in a matter of minutes. I didn't say a word as Emmett took my bags and threw them into his Jeep and ordered me to get in. We drove to the airport in silence the only words he spared were when he dropped me off at the curb, "You either come back with her or with your head on fucking straight."

So, that's what I did. I went to Jacksonville and got my girl back. When she stumbled out the side door of the church she had no idea I was in town let alone standing a few feet away from her. She had her back to me as she leaned against the door and I could tell from the rise and fall of her shoulders that she was upset about something.

"FUCK!" she yelled, startling me.

I couldn't stand there any longer and watch her suffer. "Isn't the Bride supposed to be happy on her wedding day?" I asked grinning down at her as she spun around to face me. She paused for a brief moment and I could see it on her face when she really knew why I was there and then she flew into my arms. I wrapped my arms around her petite form and begged God that she would chose me. I felt her body shake slightly against mine and figured she was crying. "Bella, love," I whispered, "It is going to be okay. Calm down."

"But, you're here," she pulled back a bit and smiled up at me, "how did you know?"

I couldn't help but smile into her beautiful brown eyes, "Alice may be your best friend, but she is _my_ sister after all." I gave her an extra squeeze and then teased, "Did you really think I would ever NOT know where you were or what you were doing?"

"So… what? You were just waiting for my wedding day to come back into my life?" She snapped at me and I realized I needed to lay off on the smart-ass humor and show her that I was sincerely here for one thing and one thing only… her.

"No Bells. That's not it at all." I shook my head letting go of her waist and I took her petite hand into my own. "I need a minute to explain." I fumbled for the words, not wanting to mess things up any more than I might have already.

"Edward?" She asked before I could get my wits about me.

I cocked my head to the side a bit and smiled, "Yes, love?"

"Do you still love me?" Bella asked me in a small voice. And that simple question made my heart leap in my chest.

"Yes. I love you as much now as ever," I told her and then pulled her close to me.

"Then get me the hell out of here," she said quietly and then threw her arms around my neck.

Surely, this was a dream. It was much too good to be true. I lifted her up so that she was eye to eye with me and then asked, "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes!" she practically yelled at me, "There isn't a doubt in my mind. For the first time this morning, I have no doubts."

I have to admit that things got a bit out of hand when we went inside. Neither of us were expecting to run straight into _him_. But there he was standing in front of us. Bella tried to be civil and talk to him in private, but he refused and came after me, which was a big fucking mistake. If he would have just acted like a rational person I wouldn't have had to bust up his pretty face. But, I guess I wouldn't have been too happy if I had been in _his_ position.

In the short time we have been back together there have been moments that I will know I will never, ever forget: when we were at my parents beach house in Jacksonville and Bella told me she was coming back to San Diego and never leaving me again, when I carried her over the threshold of our dream house, the look on her face when I asked her to marry me, the over-powering joy I felt when she said yes, the way she looked when she walked into the Courthouse on the day we got married and just when I thought she couldn't be any _more _beautiful Alice puts her in another dress that accentuated every elegant line of her neck and shoulders.

_Edward_

I hear Bella.

_Edward_

I turn my head towards her voice, but I still can't see her. I frown when all I see is darkness. I hear her laugh softly.

_Open your eyes, silly. _

I hear her laugh again and I feel her warm hand cradle the side of my face and I realize I must have fallen asleep. I slowly open my eyes, blinking to help clear my vision, and am relieved to see Bella smiling in front on me.

"Hi," she sighs.

I go to say "Hi," back but the voice that comes from my throat doesn't sound like my own. It sounds more like a croak.

"Here, take a sip of water," Bells tells me as she holds a cup with a straw up to my lips. "The Nurse told me your throat may be irritated for a while, but water and ice chips should help some."

I nod as I take the straw between my lips, pulling a mouthful of cool water into my mouth and forcing it down my scratchy throat. The relief is instantaneous, but temporary. I take another sip and then push the straw away. "How long was I out?" I whisper.

"You've been asleep for a little over an hour. What do you remember last?" she asks as she places the cup of water on the table beside her and then turns back to me taking my free right hand into hers.

"The morphine being pushed in the IV," I reply.

"You don't remember the tube coming out?" she asks looking genuinely surprised.

I shake my head no, but then out of curiosity I ask "Why?"

"No reason," Bella laughs, "It's just… well… after they took the tube out… you kept trying to pull me into the bed with you and the Nurses had to give you more meds to calm you down."

"Really?" I cock and eyebrow at her and smile. "You think I would remember something like that," I tease as I give her hand a squeeze. "Has anyone said anything about me getting out of here?"

Bella smiles at me, "I actually did speak to the Doctors while you were sleeping and they all agree that you are recovering very well. But, you still need to have another surgery on your shoulder before the Orthopedic Surgeons are willing to let you leave the hospital."

"What are they waiting for?"

"They want to make sure that your lungs are healthy enough before they have to put you under again," she tells me quietly.

"How long?"

"A day, as long as there aren't any set-backs."

"Ok," I answer immediately. "You go ahead and tell them I want the surgery ASAP."

"Alright," Bella sighs and looks me dead in the eyes, "But you know there's no hurry, right?"

I give her a slight nod, "Yeah, I know, but I can't stand being stuck here in this bed and it's just going to drive me crazier the longer it takes."

"Ok, I'll see what I can do," she pauses for a moment, "Hah," she scoffs, "better yet, I will see what Carlisle can do." Bella stands up and leans over the bed to give me a kiss and I can't help but bring my right hand up to the back of her neck and hold her in front of me for an extra second. Our lips part and she rests her forehead against mine. "I'm so happy you're awake," she whispers.

"I had to see you," I tell her.

"What?" Bella asks a bit surprised by my response.

"I had to see your face and know that you were ok. That's why I woke up. I could hear you talking to me, but I _needed_ to see you," I tell her quietly and then gently kiss her lips.

"Oh Edward," she sighs against my lips, "I love you."

"I love you, Isabella." She slowly pulls away and I see tear threatening to roll down her cheek, but I catch it with my thumb and brush it away. "I told you that you are the motivation behind everything that I do and I meant it," I tell her and then kiss her lips again.

I let my hand fall down to the bed and Bella slowly pulls away, "I know," she whispers. She pulls away so she's standing next to the bed and looks down at me, "I will be right back, ok?"

I nod and Bella turns and leaves the room.

When she returns she has a grinning Emmett in tow. "What's going on, man?" he smiles down at me and reaches out to shake my hand.

"You're looking at it," I tell him and gesture to my lovely hospital room. "What's up with you," I ask because I can tell that he's dying to tell me something.

"Well, I came to give Bella some news, but when she told me that you were awake she thought I might want to tell you myself." He pauses dramatically by taking a deep breath, "Tanya's fucking gone, Dude," he lets it out as if it is all one big word.

"What do you mean _gone_?" I ask skeptically.

"That's funny… that's exactly what Bella said. Anyway… well, after she got out of police custody she evidently went back to her and Eric's. He had been staying on the barracks, because he was filing for divorce. Yesterday afternoon, Tanya calls him up and wants to talk to him and he's a daft enough bastard to go over to their old house without calling the cops or letting anyone know where he was headed. But, according to Eric once he got there she tried to get him to take her back and when he refused she pulled _another_ gun and tried to shoot him. To make a long story short: there was a struggle for the gun which went off and shot Tanya in the chest. She died before the ambulance could even get there."

"Wow," is all I could come up with.

"Yeah, I know, right?" Emmett replies.

"How's Yorkie?" I ask out of polite concern.

"He's ok. On indefinite leave pending the outcome of the investigation," Emmett answers quietly.

"Why are they investigating?"

"Too many things don't add up and someone thinks Yorkie made this whole thing up."

"But, why would he do that?" Bella asks, completely surprised by the thought.

"Things weren't good, B," Emmett began, "How would you feel if your wife said she never loved you and was completely irrational over a man who never gave her the time of day? It had to have taken its' toll."

"I guess," Bella sighs, "It's still completely fucked up." She shakes her head and then looks at me, "I'm going to go and find your doctors, ok?"

"Sure, Love," I tell her and then she turns and walks away.

Emmett plops down on the foot of my bed making the entire bed bounce and asks with a grin, "So, when are we springing you from this popsicle stand?"

_._

_._

_Six months later…_

"You ready, Love?" I ask Bella as I pick up my car keys from the kitchen counter.

"Ummmm… almost," she answers, her voice sounding a little off.

I look across the kitchen to see Bella holding the back of the kitchen chair with both hands while looking down at the floor, steadying herself. She closes her eyes and I swear I hear her groan. I quickly close the distance between us to make sure that she is ok. I place a hand on the small of her back and the other on her arm. She sighs and leans into my chest. I kiss the top of her head, "You feeling ok? You're looking a little pale."

"I… uh… I don't know," she shakes her head.

I gently pull her towards the family room while asking, "Why don't you lay down on the couch and I will make you some tea?"

She nods and follows my lead. Once she's laying on the couch her big brown eyes pop open, "What about Alice and Jasper?"

"I will call Al and tell her we will be a little late, ok?" I tell her trying to reassure her. Bella nods and closes her eyes again. I pull the blanket off of the back of the couch and gently cover her up. I text Alice telling her that we are running behind and we will be about thirty minutes late to which she replies no problem. I set about the kitchen making her a cup of tea and a small snack.

Bella hasn't been feeling well for about a week now and I'm pretty sure she's pregnant. She is refusing to take a test until she misses her period, which should be in a day or two… stubborn woman.

After I was released from the hospital I spend the next three months rehabbing my shoulder with a vengeance. I knew there was no way I would be allowed to continue on with the SEALs or the military that matter, but I had to get my shoulder back into shape. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do next with my life, but I was very sure that I was ready to start a family.

When I approached Bella with the idea of starting our family right away, she balked at first. She wasn't sure if it's what I really wanted or if I was just trying to compensate for my career being taken from me. But, after I reassured her that I was already ok with my SEAL career coming to an end before I had even gotten shot and that, to me, this was the next logical step in our life, considering we had already been together for so long. It took her a day to digest the information, but once she seemed to understand she became very excited about the idea.

So, after getting the all clear from Bella's doctor we officially began "trying" about two months ago. Bella being Bella could not keep from telling Alice, which of course led to all of our friends and family knowing that we were indeed "trying". Alice already being five months pregnant is overjoyed at the thought of raising our kids together. And I have to admit, I kind of like that idea too.

The microwave dings and I pull out Bella's mug, add the appropriate amount of sugar and milk, pick up her plate of fruit and toast and take the snack to my girl. I walk around the couch to see that Bella has indeed fallen asleep. I set her snack behind me on the coffee table and sit down on the edge of the table. I try like hell to choke down the emotion that is building in my chest. I know my beautiful girl is carrying my baby… I know it and even though I never thought it would be possible I love this woman more and more every day. I reach forward and move an errant strand of hair away from her exquisite face and I can't help but stroke the apple of her cheek as I pull my hand back causing her eyes to flutter open.

She takes a deep breath and smiles. "Hi," she sighs and then yawns and stretches out like a cat who has just woken up from a nap.

"Hi," I smile, "you feeling a little better?" I ask and then reach behind me to get her tea. When I turn back to her she's sitting up and reaches out to take the drink.

She doesn't say anything, but she doesn't look as pale as she did a few minutes ago and I can't help but feel somewhat relieved. She slowly pulls the mug to her lips and takes a sip, testing the temperature, and then takes a larger drink. "Ohhh, that's so good, baby," she says without thinking and then, realizing what she just said, cracks a smile.

"Here," I say as I set her snack on her lap.

"Thanks," she smiles as she picks up a strawberry, "You take such good care of me," she says as she pops the berry in her mouth.

"I try love, I try," I tell her and smile back. I'm relieved that she's eating.

"Baby," she says quietly, hiding her smile behind her mug.

"Yeah?" I ask.

She looks at me and her eyes are glistening and I can see that she's fighting back tears, "I think you're right… I think I'm pregnant."

"You think so?" I tease.

"I do," she answers and then takes a bit of her toast.

I am so excited that she's finally ready to admit it that I can't help but ask, "Ready to take a test now?"

She nods and that's all it takes to have me jumping over the back of the couch and sprinting up the stairs to our bathroom to grab the pregnancy test I bought her last week. I run back down the stairs, test in hand, to find her waiting at the foot of the stairs. I hand her the box and we both go to the half-bath. She's only in there for a second when she comes back out. "We should know in a minute," she smiles and I grab her and pull her against me, wrapping my arms around her. Her hands wrap around my waist and she gives me a squeeze.

I feel her sigh and I can't help but ask, "What is it, Love?"

"Nothing," she groans and then looks up at me, "it's just… this minute is going to last _forever_," she whines.

I chuckle and her impatience and lean in for a kiss. Her soft lips mold to mine perfectly and her tongue sneaks out, inviting me in. Before I realize what has happened the kiss has gone from loving and reassuring to wanting and needing. I become very aware of every inch of her body that is touching mine. Her hands have come up to my neck and are threaded into back of my hair and the rest of her is flush against me: her breasts are firm against my chest and I swear I can feel the heat of her pussy against my leg. One my hands holds her firmly against me, while the other is grabbing her ass pushing her against my now growing erection.

Her giggle breaks the trance and I open my eyes to find her smiling up at me. "I think the minutes up," she says quietly. I go to kiss her again, but she keeps it chaste with a peck on the lips. "We have to check the test and then meet Alice, remember?" she teases and then pats my cheek.

"Uh huh," I answer articulately, waiting for my blood to return to my brain, making her smile even wider.

She pulls away and steps into the bathroom and brings back a little white stick. She looks up at me and swallows hard, "We're going to look together, ok?" I nod. "Plus sign we're pregnant, negative we're not," she tells me. I nod. "One… Two… Three…" she counts down and then on three puts the stick between us so we can see the answer.

Pink plus sign…

"You're pregnant!" I yell and the same time she yells, "Yes!" I grab her into my arms and hug her and kiss her.

"I love you, so much," I tell her.

"I love you, too," she answers. She looks down at her watch and then says, "Come on, we gotta meet your sister."

I nod.

.

.

_Six months later…_

"God, I can't believe I agreed to do this," Bella growls as she puts on her Matron of Honor dress.

"Come on, Love, you look beautiful," I try to reassure her as I zip up the back of her dress and place a gentle kiss on the nape of her neck.

"I don't feel it," she groans again.

"You know you would never forgive yourself you weren't a part of Rose and Emmett's big day," I gently remind her.

"I agreed _before_ I knew I was going to get as big as a house for their wedding," she snaps giving me a dirty look.

"Love, you will never be as big as a house, and you look absolutely amazing," I step in front of her and give her the cockiest grin in my arsenal of grins. "In fact, if we didn't have somewhere to be and I would gladly strip you out of that dress and show you just how fucking beautiful and sexy I think you are." I kiss her before she has a chance to respond and I kiss her well. Her lips part and I eagerly accept the invitation and begin teasing her tongue with my own. Her hands go to my hips while mine go straight to the straps of her plum off-the-shoulder dress and pull them further down her arms, baring her flesh-colored strapless bra. I push the bra away revealing her sensitive nipples that are already taught and waiting for me to tease and her beautiful breasts that have only been enhanced by her pregnancy. I gently roll her nipples between my thumb and fore-finger making her groan into my mouth. Leaving her lips, I begin kissing down her neck towards her ample cleavage. I kiss the top of right breast and then her left and then kneel at her feet. I linger, teasing her left nipple with my tongue, sucking and nipping, while mirroring the motions with my fingers on her right. I look up only to meet Bella's gaze. Her face is flushed, her kiss-stung lips swollen and parted and her eyes… oh my God her eyes are filled with so much want that I know exactly what I have to do. With my right hand I begin to gently stroke around her ankle moving slowly up her leg, spending extra time around the back of her knee, making her squirm her body into mine. I take my time stroking the outside of her knee… then the outside of her thigh… up to her panties… following the seam of her silky panties to the heated juncture between her legs. I push against the already wet fabric eliciting another groan from Bella. She bucks her hips seeking out more friction. I eagerly comply moving her panties to the side, gaining access to her swollen sex. She is so sensitive that I barely touch her and she is already groaning my name. As much as I want to watch her face as I make her come with my fingers, I change my mind.

I kiss each of her nipples tenderly and then smile up her. The look on her face is priceless. She's unsure of what I am doing or rather what I'm not doing. Before she says a word I throw her skirt over my head and am kissing and licking the top of her slit. She leans back, places her right foot on my shoulder and lets her leg fall to the side granting me unlimited access to her sweet, sweet pussy. I lick her from bottom to top, teasing around the edges of her opening with my tongue and flicking her clit as I work my way up. I hear her groan and pant louder with every pass. Her legs are beginning to shake and I know that she is so close. I begin to work only her clit as I slowly enter her with one finger and then another, twisting my wrist so I can reach the one spot that will send her completely over the edge. I flick my tongue against her clit as fast as can while pushing her sweet spot with my fingers… once… twice… and on the third she comes. Her body clenches hard against my hand, while her legs trap my head between them. Bella writhes against me, pushing her wet, pussy harder against my face. She's screaming and panting and vibrating and it's all I can do to hold on. It's simply fucking amazing.

It takes her a minute to relax and when she does her legs finally relax and I can begin to make my way out from under her skirt. But, I don't leave without giving her a proper goodbye. I tenderly kiss the swollen flesh of each of her lips and then the top of her slit and then finally, a little higher while putting her panties back where they belong.

I pull out from under her skirt and look up to find her leaning back on the bathroom counter with face is flushed and her eyes are closed. "Bella?" her eyes pop open and she look up at me as I stand up in front her, "Are you ok, Love?" I ask her quietly and step forward to wrap my arms around her.

"Mmmhmmm," she answers quietly.

I can't help but chuckle, "You sure?"

"Mmmhmmm," she answers again.

"We should probably get going soon or we are going to be late," I tell her gently and kiss the top of her head.

"Mmmhmmm," she answers a third time.

I pull back and look at her, "You _sure_ you are ok?" I ask again.

She gives me a lazy smile and says, "Baby, if I were any better I'd still be orgasming."

We both laugh and then finish getting ready to head to Emmett and Rosalie's wedding.

.

.

_Six months later…_

"Baby!"

My eyes fly open and I see our bed is empty. Where the hell is Bella?

"Baby!" I hear Bella calling me from downstairs. I stretch and force myself to get out of bed.

"What's up, Bells?" I yell down the stairs.

"Can you bring more diapers downstairs please?" she yells back.

"Sure, I will be right down," I tell her and go about my quick morning routine before heading to the babies' rooms to get more diapers.

Two months ago Carly Renee and Charlotte Anne came into this world. We didn't know we were having twins until right after Emmett and Rose's wedding. It was such a gross over-sight on the Doctor's part that I was extremely pissed, while Bella on the other hand was extremely relieved that there was a reasonable explanation for the amount of weight she had gained during the pregnancy. The girls were identical twins and except for a small birthmark on Carly's shoulder. The only people that could tell them apart were me and Bella… which we both kind of like… a lot. They both have tons of Bella's dark brown hair and my "pretty green eyes" according to Bella. But, according to Renee, they look just like Bella, which makes me that happiest man in the world.

The girls have started sleeping more at night which is nice. But, Bella is still exhausted, which means I'm still exhausted. But, it feels like we are figuring it out.

Today the family is coming to visit and spend the day at the beach. Jasper and Alice are bringing over my awesome nine-month old nephew, Riley. The kid is a riot. He's messy and loud and I love getting the little guy all riled up and handing him over to my oh-not-so-pleased sister. The funniest thing about him is his hair… he has my fucking bronzy-red totally out of control hair. But other than that he's the spitting image of his Daddy.

Rose and Emmett are coming over too with "news" for us. Which is code for Rose is knocked up. The girls are all excited and the guys well… we are happy as long as the girls are happy.

When I finally, make it downstairs, Bella has music playing throughout the house while she's making us breakfast. She's bobbing her head along to the beat and when I check out the girls in their bouncy seats they are both sound asleep.

I sneak up slowly behind her knowing I'm going to scare the crap out of her. I may not be a SEAL any more, but I'm still plenty stealthy. I am less than a step behind her and she still hasn't noticed me. She's wearing a light blue tank top and a pair of flannel pajama pants, so I run my finger down the back of her arm and she squeals and spins around slapping me across the chest with a soaking wet washcloth. "Dammit, Edward," she yelps and then hits me with the washcloth for a second time. "I wish you'd quit doing that," she laughs as she sees that the front of my t-shirt is now soaking wet.

"Maybe one day," I laugh and then pull her into a hug, effectively getting her wet as well.

"You're such a brat," she teases as I let her go and make myself a cup of coffee. I take my mug and sit down at the kitchen table. I peek at my girls who are still asleep. I look over at Bella who has gone back to her head-bopping to the music and smile.

"Bella?"

"Hmmm?" she answers as she turns around and looks at me with a sweet smile spread across her face.

"Thank you," I tell her.

"For what, Baby?" she asks as she sets down the washcloth and walks over to me. She stands in between my legs and rests her hands on my shoulders.

"For everything: for being my friend, for loving me, for marrying me, for taking care of me, for being such a wonderful wife and mother. Thank you for choosing me," I tell her and lean into her, resting my head against her stomach and wrapping my arms around her waist.

"Edward, I love you, baby. There's no place in this world I would rather be. I promise you that," she tells me quietly and then places a kiss on the top of my head.

* * *

**So... what do you think? Good or Bad please let me know :0)**

**Thanks again for sticking with me and for those of you who are reading "You Could Be Happy" I am trying to tighten up some things with the chapter and the story's outline before I publish another chapter. Sorry... but know that I am working on it.**


	23. Chapter 23

Hey guys… sorry to tease, but come check out my next in progress story "You Could Be Happy".

Thanks,

jen


End file.
